The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ( P.L. 112-240 , enacted on January 2, 2013) included an extension of the 2008 farm bill through September 30, 2013. This report focuses on the Nutrition title (Title IV) of the 2012 farm bill proposals included in the 112 th Congress's Senate-passed bill (Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012; S. 3240 ) and House Committee-reported bill (Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012; H.R. These were five-year reauthorization proposals, and, while the 113 th Congress must "start from scratch," it is expected that these actions during 2012 will influence the farm bill formulation during the current Congress. The report also discusses the two bills' changes to The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Commodity Supplemental Food Program, commodity foods in schools, and additional farm bill nutrition assistance programs and policies. Summary of CBO Cost Estimates of Title IV

From a budget standpoint, the largest difference between the Senate-passed and House Committee bills' Nutrition titles was their forecasted SNAP spending; this is due largely to the House Committee-reported bill's restrictions to SNAP " Categorical Eligibility ." For S. 3240 , CBO estimated that if enacted, the bill's Nutrition title—which contains SNAP and non-SNAP proposals—would have resulted in a net reduction in spending of $4.0 billion over 10 years. As summarized below, the Senate-passed and House Committee-reported bills, for the most part, would have maintained current federal law on SNAP benefit calculation; however, both bills would have changed the role of LIHEAP in SNAP benefit calculation (specifically, the significance of LIHEAP in the excess shelter deduction). It has been reported that certain states were including a household's medical marijuana expenses to determine a household's excess shelter deduction. Both bills would have amended SNAP's definition of retail food store in two ways. The bills would have given USDA the authority "to consider whether the applicant is located in an area with significantly limited access to food" in its authorization of stores, and the bills would have made an exception to the 45% requirement if USDA determines that the participation of the retailer is "required for the effective and efficient operation of the supplemental nutrition assistance program." Trafficking

Trafficking is the sale of SNAP benefits for cash or for ineligible items. 6083 is similar to the Senate-passed bill except that the House-reported bill would have provided USDA $5 million annually in additional mandatory funding to track and prevent SNAP trafficking. The House Committee's bill would have continued the FY2012 appropriations' ( P.L. In the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, American Samoa and Puerto Rico are given mandatory funds for nutrition assistance block grants. For the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, H.R. The Senate bill would have increased the mandatory funding amounts that are indexed to inflation by $174 million over 10 years. In addition, both bills would have limited eligibility for CSFP to income-eligible elderly. While typically changes to the programs' authorizing statutes, Russell National School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act, fall under the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the policies pertaining to USDA commodity food procurement are in the jurisdiction of both the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture. The policies and related S. 3240 and H.R. 6083 (Section 4205) proposed different approaches for supporting "farm to school" efforts. The bill would also have added a new authority for purchasing pulse crop products for the school meals programs, but it would not have funded the project, instead it would have provided a discretionary funding authorization ("authorized to be appropriated") of $10 million for the program. Other 2012 Farm Bill Nutrition Programs

		Fresh Fruit and Vegetable ("Snack") Program

The 2008 farm bill permanently authorized and funded the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, sometimes referred to as the "snack" program. 6083 would have made several additional changes. 112-240 's farm bill extension extended the discretionary authority for the Hunger-Free Community Grants, which had expired after September 30, 2012. For the incentive grants, the bill would provide $100 million in mandatory funding over five years. The House-reported bill would have increased funding for Community Food Projects to a total of $15 million annually and carved out $5 million of these funds for projects to encourage low-income households to purchase fruits and vegetables. Senate-Passed and House-Reported Bills

S. 3240 (Section 4206) included authorization for a Healthy Food Financing Initiative; the House-reported bill did not include this program.
Many provisions of the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246) expired on September 30, 2012. On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (P.L. 112-240), which included an extension of the 2008 farm bill through September 30, 2013.
This report focuses on the Nutrition title (Title IV) of the 2012 farm bill proposals included in the 112th Congress's Senate-passed bill (Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012; S. 3240) and House Committee-reported bill (Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012; H.R. 6083). These were five-year reauthorization proposals, and, while the 113th Congress must "start from scratch," it is expected that these actions during 2012 will influence the farm bill formulation during the current Congress.
Title IV of both S. 3240 and H.R. 6083 would have largely maintained the nutrition program policies and discretionary and mandatory funding that are contained in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and other nutrition program authorizing statutes. Many provisions in the two bills were the same, but the bills also differed in a number of ways, most notably provisions related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps). The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated total 10-year budget savings of $4.0 billion in the Senate-passed bill and $16.1 billion in the House-reported bill.
SNAP policies constituted the bulk of Title IV of the 112th Congress's farm bill proposals, with notable differences between the Senate-passed and House-reported bills. SNAP provisions in both bills would have changed authorization requirements for retailers and some of the rules that govern participants' and retailers' redemption of SNAP benefits. Both bills would have provided additional mandatory funding for reducing SNAP trafficking (the sale of SNAP benefits for cash or ineligible goods), although the Senate bill proposed a larger amount. In terms of a household's eligibility for SNAP and the calculation of monthly benefit amounts, both bills would have identically reduced the impact of a household's receipt of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) benefits affecting the household's SNAP benefit calculation. The House Committee bill also would have restricted categorical eligibility, a policy most responsible for the difference between the nutrition title cost estimates. The House committee-reported bill also would have repealed state performance bonuses, clarified the consideration of medical marijuana expenses, and made several other administrative changes. The House committee-reported bill would also have made changes to the nutrition assistance provided to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.
Both bills would have increased mandatory funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP, a major source of federal support for emergency feeding organizations), the Senate by $174 million over 10 years, and the House Agriculture Committee by $245 million over 10 years. Both bills would have limited eligibility for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to low-income elderly participants, phasing out eligibility for low-income pregnant and post-partum women, infants, and children.
Within the child nutrition programs, the Senate bill would have provided authorization and funding to continue a whole grain pilot program and authorization to begin a pulse crops pilot program. In contrast, the House committee-reported bill would not have included these pilots and would have eliminated the "fresh" requirement in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides such snacks in elementary schools. Both bills would have provided additional authorizations for "farm to school" efforts to bring local agricultural products into school cafeterias.
Both bills proposed increases for Community Food Projects grants (the Senate by $5 million each year and the House Agriculture Committee by $10 million); H.R. 6083 also would have carved out $5 million of these grants each year for projects that encourage low-income households to purchase fruits and vegetables. The Senate bill would have added discretionary authority for a Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a financing mechanism to sustain and create food retail opportunities in communities that lack access to healthy food; and would have provided $100 million (over five years) in mandatory funding for Hunger-Free Communities Incentive Grants, which would fund programs that provide incentives for SNAP participants' purchase of fruits and vegetables; neither of these programs had been included in the House committee's bill.