H.R. 2 – Agriculture and Nutrition Act: No

H.R. 2 – Agriculture and Nutrition Act: No. This is an extensive omnibus bill costing a total of $900 billion over the next ten years (about $720 a year for an average household). It includes some good provisions on forest management and at least makes a half-hearted effort to introduce work requirements for about 20 percent of the ten million able-bodied adults receiving SNAP (commonly referred to as food stamps). Unfortunately, the money saved from the SNAP reforms is plowed back into other spending and increases taxpayer costs by a net $31 billion over ten years. Further, the loopholes in the SNAP reform make it possible for states to circumvent these requirements. Regrettably, the House rejected my amendment to extend the work requirement to 70 percent of the able-bodied SNAP population.

But by far the worst thing is that HR 2 continues the multi-billion-dollar farm subsidy program that in effect uses taxpayer funds to inflate the price of groceries. Sugar supports alone add $30 a year to a family's grocery bill. The modest forest management and food stamp reforms fall far short of compensating for the continuation of the expensive and self-destructive subsidy program.