Vilsack: Vote on Cantor nutrition bill expected next week, hopes it fails
September 10, 2013 | 06:46 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today he expects the House to vote next week on the proposal by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to cut food stamps — formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — by $40 billion over 10 years, and that he hopes the bill fails.
Vilsack made the statement in a call to reporters today to announce some conservation innovation grants and to emphasize once again the need to pass a farm bill.
He later confirmed to The Hagstrom Report that he has not received formal notification of a House vote, but has based his expectation on conversations with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., comments by other members of Congress and on news reports.
Although Cantor’s office has not announced that the nutrition bill will come up next week, a House Republican source confirmed that the leadership does plan to bring it up then and that a whipping operation to encourage Republican members to vote for it is expected to start this week.
All House Democrats voted against the farm-program-only farm bill that the House passed in July, and it will be hard for Republicans to convince Democrats to vote for the nutrition-only bill.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said he will appoint farm bill conferees after the nutrition vote. The Senate has passed a comprehensive farm bill and appointed conferees.
Lucas told The Hagstrom Report this week that he will vote for the Cantor measure even though the cuts are double what the House Agriculture Committee passed, saying that without a House-passed nutrition title Senate conferees would say that their bill cuts $4 billion from food stamps over 10 years and the House cuts zero, and that they might propose a compromise to split the difference at $2 billion.
“There is nothing easy about any of it,” Lucas added. “In the scheme of things we will see how this sorts out in conference. The president is very sensitive about these kinds of issues.”
Congress has to pass a bill that President Barack Obama will sign, he noted. While Congress overrode two vetoes by President George W. Bush to pass the farm bill in 2008, Lucas said, the political consensus does not exist to override a veto this year.
The Congressional Budget Office has said that food stamps would cost about $760 billion over 10 years without the proposed cut.
Vilsack told reporters that House leaders understand that the $40 billion cut will never become law, and that their point is to “put a focus on entitlements without paying a political price” by proposing cuts to Social Security or Medicare.
“There is a real desire apparently to get this nutrition bill on the floor and get it voted,” Vilsack said, adding, “I hope it gets defeated.”
But when conference on the farm bill begins, Vilsack said he and other USDA officials are “prepared at a moment’s notice to provide help and assistance” on how to make changes to the food stamp program.
Earlier today, Vilsack told reporters that “There are ways in which every government program can be improved,” but that Congress should not undertake “a wholesale reduction that captures folks that genuinely need the help.”
He added that, while there may be people exploiting the program, “If you interviewed all 47 million [food stamp beneficiaries] you would find heartbreaking stories” of people who need help, including some homeless veterans who are classified as able-bodied adults without dependents.
Vilsack said he considered the debate over food stamps to be “a foil” for a “philosophical” conversation.
The secretary made those comments after a speech to the Growth Energy Advocacy Conference. (See story below.)
Vilsack made the statement in a call to reporters today to announce some conservation innovation grants and to emphasize once again the need to pass a farm bill.
He later confirmed to The Hagstrom Report that he has not received formal notification of a House vote, but has based his expectation on conversations with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., comments by other members of Congress and on news reports.
Although Cantor’s office has not announced that the nutrition bill will come up next week, a House Republican source confirmed that the leadership does plan to bring it up then and that a whipping operation to encourage Republican members to vote for it is expected to start this week.
All House Democrats voted against the farm-program-only farm bill that the House passed in July, and it will be hard for Republicans to convince Democrats to vote for the nutrition-only bill.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said he will appoint farm bill conferees after the nutrition vote. The Senate has passed a comprehensive farm bill and appointed conferees.
Lucas told The Hagstrom Report this week that he will vote for the Cantor measure even though the cuts are double what the House Agriculture Committee passed, saying that without a House-passed nutrition title Senate conferees would say that their bill cuts $4 billion from food stamps over 10 years and the House cuts zero, and that they might propose a compromise to split the difference at $2 billion.
“There is nothing easy about any of it,” Lucas added. “In the scheme of things we will see how this sorts out in conference. The president is very sensitive about these kinds of issues.”
Congress has to pass a bill that President Barack Obama will sign, he noted. While Congress overrode two vetoes by President George W. Bush to pass the farm bill in 2008, Lucas said, the political consensus does not exist to override a veto this year.
The Congressional Budget Office has said that food stamps would cost about $760 billion over 10 years without the proposed cut.
Vilsack told reporters that House leaders understand that the $40 billion cut will never become law, and that their point is to “put a focus on entitlements without paying a political price” by proposing cuts to Social Security or Medicare.
“There is a real desire apparently to get this nutrition bill on the floor and get it voted,” Vilsack said, adding, “I hope it gets defeated.”
But when conference on the farm bill begins, Vilsack said he and other USDA officials are “prepared at a moment’s notice to provide help and assistance” on how to make changes to the food stamp program.
Earlier today, Vilsack told reporters that “There are ways in which every government program can be improved,” but that Congress should not undertake “a wholesale reduction that captures folks that genuinely need the help.”
He added that, while there may be people exploiting the program, “If you interviewed all 47 million [food stamp beneficiaries] you would find heartbreaking stories” of people who need help, including some homeless veterans who are classified as able-bodied adults without dependents.
Vilsack said he considered the debate over food stamps to be “a foil” for a “philosophical” conversation.
The secretary made those comments after a speech to the Growth Energy Advocacy Conference. (See story below.)
