Since 1973, the farm bill has included the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly, Food Stamp Program) and has come to include certain other (new and existing) nutrition programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS). As Congress formulated the Nutrition provisions of the 2014 farm bill, policy makers grappled with the following questions:
Should the reauthorization of SNAP continue to be a part of the omnibus farm bill? Should spending reductions be achieved by changes in households' eligibility and benefit amounts? Should the farm bill include provisions to increase the funding and capacity of emergency feeding organizations (e.g., food banks and food pantries)? Finally, the report summarizes the new law and Senate and House proposals related to SNAP (specifically, length of authorization, eligibility rules [including work-related], benefit calculation, retailers, and benefit redemption); Programs in Lieu of SNAP (that some territories and tribes operate); Commodity Distribution Programs (TEFAP, CSFP, and USDA Commodities in School Meals); as well as certain other nutrition-related programs. 113th Congress Legislative Timeline of the Reauthorization of SNAP and Related Programs8

		June 10, 2013: Senate Passes Farm Bill (S. 954), Including Nutrition Title

On May 14, 2013, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry marked up the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 and reported an original bill, S. 954 , to the Senate. As Table 1 shows, CBO estimated that the 2014 farm bill's Nutrition Title—which contains SNAP and non-SNAP provisions—will result in a net reduction in spending of approximately $8.0 billion over 10 years. The SNAP provisions alone are estimated to reduce spending by slightly more than $8.6 billion over 10 years; certain non-SNAP provisions are estimated to result in spending increases. The law's Nutrition Title cost estimate is largely the result of three SNAP policy decisions: the House's more stringent LIHEAP Standard Utility Allowance language, creating certain work-related pilot projects and related funding, and declining to make changes on SNAP categorical eligibility. In fact, like the farm bills before it, the vast majority of the spending authorized by the 2014 farm bill is for SNAP and related nutrition programs. The House bill would have reauthorized the nutrition programs for three years (FY2014-FY2016), and the Senate's would have reauthorized the programs for five years (FY2014-FY2018). However, states also have the option to adopt so called "broad-based" categorical eligibility. Section 4022 of the Agriculture Act of 2014 ( P.L. This provision was a compromise conference agreement, between (1) no changes to work rules in the Senate-passed bill and (2) House-passed changes that would have required additional monitoring and reporting, a repeal of USDA's authority to grant areas waivers from the ABAWD time limit, and a work-related pilot that would have offered fiscal incentives for states to reduce their SNAP caseloads. In addition to pilot projects, the law also requires all states to set performance goals for their existing SNAP Employment & Training (E&T) programs and to report annually. The law also specifies that this disqualification is not to apply to convictions that occurred before the new law's enactment (February 7, 2014); this specification had been included in the House bill but not the Senate bill. The 2014 farm bill, for the most part, maintains current federal law on SNAP benefit calculation; however, the 2014 bill changes the way the excess shelter deduction is calculated (specifically, the treatment of energy assistance payments). As shown in Table 1 , the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that this LIHEAP-related change included in the 2014 farm bill will reduce SNAP spending by approximately $8.6 billion over the 10-year budget window of FY2014-FY2023. The House-passed farm bill ( H.R. 2642 combined with H.R. Instead, participating households are provided benefits on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card which participants may only redeem for SNAP-eligible foods at authorized retailers . 111-296 )—provides formula grant funding for states to provide programs for SNAP (and other domestic food assistance program) participants as well as other low-income households. The House bill would have reduced funding in FY2014 and then would have adjusted for inflation in subsequent years; CBO estimated that that proposal would have reduced funding for the program by $146 million over 5 years and $308 million over 10 years. 2014 Farm Bill: Increases Entitlement Commodities Funding, Makes Funds Available for Two Years

According to CBO's accounting for inflation, the 2014 farm bill increases funding for TEFAP's entitlement commodities by $125 million over five years and $205 million over 10 years. Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)

			Background and Prior Law

CSFP is a household-based food assistance program that provides distribution of USDA commodity foods to a household. The law, like the House and Senate bills, also includes a new provision that allows USDA to contract with a processor and retain title to those foods while processing. Below are a few highlights, including the reauthorization of programs included in the 2008 farm bill (e.g., Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, Community Food Projects, and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program), and new mandatory funding that makes federal funding available for SNAP bonus incentive projects. Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program : Reauthorization. "Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive" Grants. Like the Senate bill, the new law includes $100 million in mandatory funding over five years for these grants. Comparison of the Enacted 2014 Farm Bill ( P.L. 113-79 ) Nutrition Title to the Nutrition Titles of the 2013 Conference Proposals and Prior Law
After action to reauthorize the 2008 farm bill in both the 112th and 113th Congresses, the Agriculture Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79; "2014 farm bill") was enacted on February 7, 2014. In addition to farm programs and other agricultural policies, this newest omnibus farm bill reauthorizes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other related nutrition programs. Farm bills since 1973 have included reauthorization of the Food Stamp Program (now called SNAP).
The enacted 2014 law reconciles differences between the House-passed bill (H.R. 2642, as combined with H.R. 3102, Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act) and the Senate-passed bill (S. 954). The Nutrition Title reauthorizes SNAP and related programs for five years, and CBO estimates that the Nutrition Title will reduce spending by $8.0 billion over 10 years (FY2014-FY2023). The SNAP provisions alone are estimated to reduce spending by slightly more than $8.6 billion over 10 years. Certain other Nutrition provisions are estimated to increase spending, which together result in the total estimated reduction of $8.0 billion.
Farm bill conferees were faced with significant differences in the SNAP provisions in the Senate- and House-passed bills. Over the 10-year budget window (FY2014-FY2023), CBO estimated that the Senate's Nutrition Title would have reduced spending by approximately $4 billion and the House's Nutrition Title would have reduced spending by approximately $39 billion. The House bill would have reauthorized SNAP and related programs for three years, while the Senate would have reauthorized the programs for five years.
Although the Nutrition Title of the 2014 law contains a number of provisions that change aspects of SNAP and related nutrition programs, conferees largely retained the provisions in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and other nutrition program authorizing statutes. The budgetary impact of the 2014 farm bill's Nutrition Title is largely the result of changes to SNAP eligibility and benefit calculation rules. The law's treatment of major issues in households' eligibility and benefit amounts include the following:
The 2014 farm bill amends how Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) payments are treated in the calculation of SNAP benefits. According to information from June 2012, this change to benefit calculation is expected to reduce household benefit amounts in approximately 17 states. The 2014 farm bill disqualifies from SNAP certain ex-offenders who are not complying with the terms of their sentence. This is a narrower disqualification than that proposed in the House and Senate bills. The law includes policies related to the SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program, including a pilot project authority and related funding ($200 million over FY2014 and FY2015) for states to implement and USDA to evaluate a variety of work programs for SNAP participants. The law includes the House bill's provisions that would expand reporting measures for all E&T programs. The law makes no changes to broad-based categorical eligibility. The law does not give states the option to administer drug testing as part of their eligibility determination processes (as had been proposed in the House bill).
Since SNAP provides benefits redeemable for SNAP-eligible foods at SNAP-eligible retailers, much of SNAP law pertains to retailer authorization and benefit issuance and redemption. The 2014 farm bill includes the changes to retailer and redemption provisions that had been included in both the House and Senate bills. The law now requires stores to stock more fresh foods, requires retailers to pay for their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) machines, and provides additional funding for combatting trafficking (the sale of SNAP benefits). The 2014 farm bill also includes $100 million in mandatory funding (over 10 years) for Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grants, which will support organizations that offer bonus incentives for SNAP purchases of fruits and vegetables.
The law increases funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the program that provides USDA foods and federal support to emergency feeding organizations (e.g., food banks and food pantries). Taking into account CBO's estimates of inflation, the conference agreement is estimated to provide an additional $205 million for TEFAP over 10 years, $125 million of which is provided in the first five years.
The law's Nutrition Title includes many other changes to SNAP and related program policy. These changes include amendments to the nutrition programs operated by tribes and territories, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and the distribution of USDA foods to schools. The 2010 child nutrition reauthorization (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, P.L. 111-296) has already reauthorized WIC and the child nutrition programs through FY2015, but the 2014 farm bill does include related policies, such as farm-to-school efforts.