U.S. Farm Bill Up for Renewal; Could Affect Snap Benefits

After talks around the debt ceiling end, lawmakers will need to pass another bill.

The U.S. Farm Bill is up for renewal this year. This bill is renewed every five years. It maps out what kind of crops can be planted and provides disaster relief for farmers. It also provides money to rural communities for different projects, like expanding internet access.

The bill also sets aside dollars and places regulations on SNAP benefits.

Emily Weikert Bryant is the Executive Director of Feeding Indiana's Hungry. She said lawmakers could look at changing how benefits are calculated and the application process. But, she hopes they look at increasing how much families receive.

"Benefits that folks are receiving only amount to six dollars per person per day," she said. "That doesn't take long for that to run out."

Bryant's hopes may come true.

Indiana Farm Bureau's National Affairs Coordinator Brantley Seifers said the new farm bill is projected to be $1.5 trillion. The SNAP program could receive $1.2 trillion of that.

"There's a lot of things that go into that number," he said. "Inflation is definitely one of them. Formulas change how the number is totaled. At the end of the day, the fight is going to come down to the dollars."

Whether or not SNAP will increase or even decrease is still up for debate amongst lawmakers.