The negotiated farm bill would tweak the program by requiring states to pay at least $20 in heating assistance to eligible households. The change would reduce, but not eliminate, SNAP payments based on heat-and-eat eligibility and save nearly $9 billion, aides said.
The changes would affect at least 800,000 households, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office — a number small enough, aides said, that both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans might support the compromise.
“I don’t think we should be focused on the cuts; I think we should be focused on the efficiencies of the program and who it’s genuinely helping,” said Rep. Marlin A. Stutzman (R-Ind.), a fiscal conservative who pushed for bolder changes to SNAP. Stutzman said he hasn’t decided how he will vote on the final bill.
Rep. Steve Southerland II (R-Fla.), another outspoken advocate for bolder reforms, said he also would reserve judgment: “I think that individual members are going to have to make their decision: Is my support of a farm bill based on a number or is it based on a meshing of the number and the policy reforms?”
Among congressional Democrats, some of the most liberal lawmakers expressed tentative support for the compromise.