It’s the dog days of summer in Washington, DC, and Congress is a step closer toward enacting one of its top agenda items, the 2018 farm bill. Prior to the Fourth of July, the Senate passed a farm bill by a vote of 86-11, and on its second attempt, the House squeaked through a bill by a 213-211 vote. Before Congress left town for the August recess, both chambers voted to go to a Conference Committee to reconcile the differences between the two bills, in a manner we remember from School House Rock, but a rarity in the modern political climate.
Federal agriculture program funding will expire Sept. 30 unless Congress acts, an unacceptable result for farm state lawmakers facing re-election and representing producers dealing with low crop prices and an escalating trade war. Clearly, a lot is at stake for U.S. farmers and ranchers, but the farm bill is a critical piece of legislation that brings certainty to multiple stakeholders within the food and agriculture supply chain.
In addition to farm programs, the farm bill reauthorizes nutrition programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is one of the country’s most effective safety net programs and has been a success largely in part to the private-public partnership it has with supermarket operators.
As grocers know, the SNAP program has come under fire in recent months. For example, in February, the Trump administration proposed a Harvest Box program that would convert 40 percent of SNAP funding into a government food delivery service. We’ve also seen numerous other harmful SNAP proposals pop up, such as the taxing of SNAP redemptions, repealing the interchange prohibition on EBT transactions, costly data reporting mandates and the imposition of restrictions on SNAP purchases. Fortunately, thanks to the engagement of independent grocers and our industry partners in the legislative process, NGA has been successful ensuring that these ill-conceived policies were off the table.
Another priority for independent supermarket operators is the expansion of nutrition incentive programs, such as the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program. Established in the 2014 farm bill, FINI supports projects that incentivize the purchase of fruits and vegetables for consumers participating in SNAP. The program evolved from the Double Up Food Bucks program piloted in Michigan that has become a national model for other healthy food incentives. Independents participating in the program have reported positive results, such as an increase in overall produce sales and an expansion of their customer base. In many cases, the program has helped increase grocers’ connection to local and regional agriculture producers, and has helped facilitate the development of new supply chains that exist even beyond the project duration.
NGA was pleased to see a number of our key policy priorities included in the House and Senate versions of the farm bill, but there are still significant hurdles to overcome before the legislation ends up on the President’s desk, namely reconciling two vastly different pieces of legislation.
On behalf of the independent supermarket industry, the team here at NGA looks forward to working with various lawmakers to advance common sense policies that will allow grocers to focus on growing their businesses and supporting their local communities.
(Chris Jones is the National Grocers Association vice president of government relations and counsel)