{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=e7b35b51-695f-44ec-808d-eef85ef58263", "Washington Post: Rep. Noem, Sen. Stabenow work to bridge differences over spending on food stamps and farmers", "2013-10-30", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By Joann Weiner \r\n\tThe farm bill conference committee faces some steep hurdles as it tries to reconcile the sharp differences among those who would like to increase support for farmers and ranchers and those who would like to prevent sharp cuts to the federal nutrition assistance program known as food stamps.\r\nOn one side, some 47.6 million low-income people will see their food stamp benefits cut\u00a0starting Friday\u00a0as the temporary additional spending provided in 2009\u2019s stimulus bill expires. On the other side, farmers rely on the federal government to provide subsidized crop insurance, price support, and disaster relief. None of this is available without a farm bill.\r\nThat\u2019s one reason why following the re-opening of the federal government on Oct. 18, President Obama said that getting a new farm bill was one of his three priorities. The farm bill provides support to both groups. Food stamps have been part of the farm bill since the early 1970s.\r\nThe 41-member committee holds its first public meeting today when it will begin the process ofreconciling\u00a0the differences between the House and Senate versions of the farm bill. Rep. Frank D. Lucas (R-Okla.) chairs the committee.\r\nThe current farm bill expired at the end of September with the two chambers unable to agree on several issues, most importantly on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is better known as food stamps. The House bill cuts $40 billion from the program over 10 years, while the Senate cuts about $3.9 billion. Total spending in the farm bill reaches almost $100 billion a year, with food stamps accounting for 80 percent of that spending.\r\nThe most influential woman in the process may be Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) who chairs the Senate Agricultural Committee. In June, the Senate passed a $955 billion 10-year measure that cuts farm spending by $18 billion. Stabenow is also on the budget conference committee and may be in a position trade revenue picked up in the farm bill for additional spending in the budget deal.\r\nOn the Republican side, Rep. Kristi Noem of South Dakota knows how important\u00a0getting disaster relief\u00a0is to her state. Ranchers lost tens of thousands of cattle to a blizzard that roared through the state earlier this month, and these ranchers have been unable to obtain federal assistance. Noem, who favored allowing the government to shut down as a way to put a cap on federal spending, believes that the federal government should assist ranchers following this natural disaster.\r\nAlthough each woman has been outspoken on just one of the issues,\u00a0each represents both food stamp recipients and farmers and thus must reconcile competing interests in the upcoming farm bill negotiations. As a senator, Stabenow represents her entire state, and, because South Dakota has just one representative, Noem also represents her entire state.\r\nFood stamps are an important source of federal assistance in both states. For Stabenow, about 1.8 million Michiganders received a total of $3 billion in food stamp benefits, or about $1,630 each in 2012,\u00a0according to\u00a0the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For Noem, about 103,000 South Dakotans received a total of $166 million in food stamp benefits, or about $1,594 each in 2012.\r\nThe farming side tells a slightly different story than the food stamp side. Stabenow represents 56,014 farms that received $119 million in federal government payments, or an average of $5,115 per farm, based on the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture\u2019s most recent\u00a0census data\u00a0for 2007. Farmers and ranchers in Noem\u2019s district are slightly better compensated by the federal government. The 31,169 South Dakota farms received $271 million, or an average $11,817 in government payments in 2007.\u00a0By comparison, food stamp recipients obtained about $1,200 that year in both Michigan and South Dakota.\r\nAs a final point, food stamp recipients, by definition, are low income. A household\u2019s net income can\u2019t exceed the poverty line to be eligible for food stamps,\u00a0according to\u00a0the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The poverty line for a family of three is about $19,000.\r\nBy contrast, the typical\u00a0Michigan farmer\u00a0had about $23,000 in net cash income while\u00a0a typical\u00a0South Dakota\u00a0farmer had about $71,000 in net cash income in 2012.\r\nRead the story here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=e7b35b51-695f-44ec-808d-eef85ef58263"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.944742001593113, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}