ELCA Advocacy

For the last several months, ELCA congregational leaders and advocacy staff have been doing a series of farm bill meetings with policymakers in Congress. Nonetheless, the 2024 Farm Bill has hit a roadblock in the House of Representatives due in large part to the partisan debate around cuts to SNAP. It is possible that the legislation could move as early as November, after the election. The current more partisan Farm Bill in the House would rely heavily on Republican votes and would have extreme difficulty passing through the House Rules Committee – much less the floor of the House – due to a slim majority in the chamber. Democrats are unlikely to support the existing House bill due to severe cuts in SNAP funding, the repurposing of conservation funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and changes to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).

On the Senate side, Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) released a counterproposal to Chairwoman Stabenow’s (D-MI) own draft Farm Bill framework. The Senate Republican proposal includes similar House changes to SNAP, IRA funds, and CCC. With limited congressional calendar space between now and general elections in November, lawmakers in the Senate are working to negotiate a bipartisan Farm Bill with the hope of passing a bill on the floor after Election Day.

ELCA Witness in Society staff met with several dozen congressional offices over the month of June, alongside Lutheran advocates, service providers, and hunger ministry leaders living in key congressional districts. Highlighting the work of our core hunger ministries and the need to support core faith priorities, these meetings are set to continue through July as legislators prepare for a long August recess.

The U. S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee, led by Chair G.T. Thompson (PA-15), released the proposed bill text for the multi-year package of legislation known as the Farm Bill. Find text here. As written, the proposed legislation includes things to celebrate and concerns for our priorities.

To note, this bill includes the RESTORE Act, which repeals the denial of SNAP benefits for certain individuals with previous drug-related convictions. This bill also incorporates innovative policies that aim to support farmers, promote sustainable practices, and strengthen rural development: most notably are the provisions that will help streamline rural development permitting processes and reinforcing broadband connectivity in rural communities. Additionally, this proposal would be the largest investment in conservation programs, to date.

With deep gratitude for these provisions, we have some concerns with the nutrition program and the conservation title that conflict with our priorities. This version of the Farm Bill, proposed by the House Agriculture Committee, would limit the ability to update the Thrifty Food Plan, which provides the basis for calculating SNAP benefits. Also the additional funds for the conservation program, that had originally been set aside for “climate-smart agriculture” incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, would lose those climate-smart requirements under this proposal. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to mark up this draft legislation on Thu., May 23.

The House and Senate Agriculture Committees are in the process of drafting their versions of the 2024 Farm Bill. Lawmakers must reauthorize the Farm Bill or pass a temporary extension to keep program operations running by September 2024, when the current legislation expires.

Though there is little legislative calendar space to pass a Farm Bill in this Election Year, House Agriculture Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) has indicated his aims to markup a bill in committee around Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd (see summary here). Ahead of the markup, Rep. Thompson’s office has issued some early proposed changes to the SNAP program, which some estimate would reduce hunger funding in SNAP by $30 bn over the next decade.

“The 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization is delayed. Since the 2018 Farm Bill was enacted on December 20, 2018, an extension has allowed authorized programs to continue through Sept. 30, 2024. USDA Farm Service Agency assures that “[the] Farm Bill continues its strong support for America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest stewards through a variety of safety net, farm loan, conservation, and disaster assistance program.” However, our faith-based advocacy in the process remains active toward passing a 5-year Farm Bill.”

Read more about a full brief on the Farm Bill released at the start of 2024 here.