WAWG
From Agri-Pulse
This is #4 in Agri-Pulse’s series on farm bill lessons.
The Republican speaker of the House is committed to reforming welfare programs – including food assistance – to fulfill a campaign promise. But farm-state lawmakers are worried about holding together a fragile urban-rural coalition long seen critical to passing a new farm bill.
That could be 2017, but actually that was 1995. The House speaker was Newt Gingrich, and he was committed to carrying out the GOP’s 1994 campaign agenda, the “Contract with America.” One of the Republicans’ promises was to turn the food stamp program over to the states by converting it into block grants. Read the rest of the story here.