Ag lawmakers say that the Congressional Budget Office is complicating the Farm Bill.
House Ag Chair GT Thompson says that the CBO is off the mark in its prediction on food stamp spending in the recently passed debt ceiling bill.
“Absolutely, they got it wrong, and it was a factor of double-counting. These individuals, veterans, the homeless, and those aging out of foster youth, they’re largely already counted— they’re already eligible,” Thompson explains.
Rep. Dusty Johnson says that the new debt ceiling deal will actually save money: “Work requirements clearly save money. And I would again point you to the CBO 2022 study, that indicated that work requirements absolutely save substantial federal dollars.”
For its part, the CBO now says that the debt deal adds more than $2 billion dollars and 78,000 recipients to SNAP. Food stamp spending makes up 80% of the Farm Bill budget.
