HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.crs/govejmq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service
AssisiInformring the legislative debate since 1914
November 18, 2022
Farm Bill Primer: SNAP and Nutrition Title Programs
The Nutrition title of the farm bill typically reauthorizes a
number of nutrition or domestic food assistance programs,
including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program). These
programs were last reauthorized by the Agriculture
Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill; P.L. 115-334).
They are authorized through September 30, 2023. In a
subsequent farm bill's Nutrition title, policymakers might
revisit 2018 debates and decisions and consider new
challenges and questions, including temporary changes
made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The child nutrition programs (e.g., the National School
Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children [WIC]) are
typically reauthorized in a child nutrition reauthorization
bill-not a farm bill.
Nutrition Programs Typkcaliy
Reauthorized a Farm Bill
The major programs, included in several different
permanent statutes, reauthorized in the 2018 farm bill were
* SNAP and related grant programs (e.g., SNAP
Employment & Training);
* Programs in lieu of SNAP: Food Distribution Program
on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), Nutrition
Assistance Program grants for several territories;
* The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP);
* Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP);
* Community Food Projects;
* Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
(SFMNP); and
* Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program
(GusNIP) grants.
These programs are administered by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA's) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS),
(except for GusNIP, administered by USDA's National
Institute of Food and Agriculture [NIFA]). SNAP is the
largest of USDA's domestic food assistance programs, in
both participation and spending. (See Table 1 for statistics
and program summaries.)
Funding
According to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's)
projected costs at the time of the 2018 law's enactment, the
Nutrition title made up approximately 76% of farm bill
mandatory spending.
SNAP is authorized as open-ended mandatory spending and
is funded through appropriations laws. As such, amending
SNAP eligibility, benefits, or other program rules can have
a budgetary impact. At the same time, the availability of
appropriated funding also affects SNAP's operation.
SNAP's spending is largely driven by program
participation, which can fluctuate due to economic
conditions and program rules (see Figure 1).
Approximately 95% of SNAP spending is for the benefits
themselves, which are 100% federally funded.
Administrative costs of eligibility determination and benefit
issuance are shared between the state/territory and federal
government. Other SNAP spending includes funds for
nutrition education and Employment and Training (E&T).
Figure I. SNAP Participation and Federal Spending,
FYI 996-FY202 1
Constant (inflation-adjusted) FY2021 dollars
Other SNAP Costs left axis)
Benefits ef t axis)
Avg. Mont y Patipat on (ght axis)
Source: CRS, using USDA-FNS administrative data. Spending
amounts in FY2021 dollars: Benefits adjusted using CPI-U Food at
Home index; Other SNAP Costs spending in FY2021 dollars using
CPI-U for All Consumers index.
Note: FY2020 and FY2021 include additional funding provided by
COVID-19 pandemic response laws.
The programs in lieu of SNAP (except for a small amount
of FDPIR) are also mandatory spending. TEFAP's
entitlement commodity funds for food are mandatory
spending, while the program's administrative costs are
discretionary. CSFP is discretionary spending. SFMNP and
GusNIP receive mandatory funding from sources outside of
annual appropriations bills.
SNAP in the 2018 Farm Bill
Congressional consideration of the 2018 farm bill included
contentious debate centered on SNAP's work requirements
and other eligibility rules. The enacted 2018 farm bill
reconciled significant differences between the House- and
Senate-passed SNAP provisions, ultimately making few
eligibility changes. On work-related rules, the enacted bill
increased funding for and services provided in the SNAP
Employment and Training (E&T) program and reduced](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govejmq0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)