Today, the House of Representatives passed a new $1 trillion five-year Farm Bill, by 251 votes to 166. The bill, which is now on its way to the Senate where it is expected to pass, cuts $8.6 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) over the next 10 years—significantly less than House Republicans had previously proposed, but more than Democrats had initially agreed to. The main provision of the bill changes aspects of the SNAP benefit calculation that would affect benefits for roughly 850,000 households, who would see an average decline in monthly benefits of $90 according to the Congressional Budget Office. However, benefit levels for more than 96 percent of the nation’s 48 million SNAP recipients would not be affected under this compromise.
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