AGRICULTURE/ENTITLEMENTS/LEGISLATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate easily passed a sprawling farm bill, 87 to 13, on Tuesday [12-11-18], advancing an ambitious $867 billion measure that rejected stricter work requirements for food-stamp recipients that were pushed by House Republicans and cheered by President Trump. The twice-a-decade legislation provides a safety net for farmers hit with unexpected weather or by tariffs, as well as to low-income Americans struggling to feed themselves and their families. It is one of the most politically sensitive pieces of legislation Congress passes, balancing the demands of urban legislators hoping to maintain or increase funding for nutrition programs and rural lawmakers seeking to protect farmers, a divide brought into sharp relief this year as negotiations continued months after the previous bill’s Sept. 30 expiration date…The chief point of contention was the House’s inclusion of new work requirements for able-bodied adults seeking food stamps. Conservatives had also hoped to close a loophole in the limited work requirements in existing law that allows states to waive the requirements in areas with high unemployment rates. Both measures received backing from Mr. Trump, who had called the new requirements ‘imperative.’”
–Catie Edmondson, “Senate, Rejecting Curbs on Food Stamps, Passes Compromise Farm Bill,” The New York Times online, December 11, 2018