Democrats try to play catch-up in the battle over nutrition programs, which face new restrictions in debt deal – By Garrett Downs (Politico) / May 28, 2023
The debt limit deal includes new restrictions on food aid. Democrats hope they can peel them back in future spending fights.
Democrats were caught flat footed as Republicans took aim at food and nutrition programs in the debt limit talks. They’re trying to make sure they’re better prepared for Round Two of the fight — this summer’s farm bill negotiations.
But House Democrats’ new initiative — a task force on agriculture and nutrition — has yet to lay out how it will make up the ground they’ve lost to Republicans, who’ve spent months arguing nutrition programs need stronger work requirements. The deal to raise the debt limit that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck Saturday night expanded the age of people who must meet work requirements to receive benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a major victory for Republicans.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent out an internal caucus memo announcing the task force’s launch on May 20 — a Saturday — and members of the task force gathered behind closed doors for their first meeting Wednesday. But they have yet to address the public in any coordinated fashion, and individual members have offered different explanations for the task force’s focus, going forward.
What the launch of the task force does make clear is that Democrats are deeply concerned about their failure to adequately defend food assistance programs for low-income Americans, hundreds of thousands of whom could now be subject to the enhanced work requirements in order to keep their benefits. And they are looking for another avenue, beyond the House Agriculture Committee and its beleaguered top Democrat, Rep. David Scott (Ga.), to push back. But that could create new questions and confusion as the party gears up to battle the GOP on the issue in this year’s farm bill, which Scott’s committee oversees, and annual spending packages.
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