Answer:
The farm bill is an expansive piece of legislation that provides funding for commodity programs, conservation, trade, nutrition, credit, rural development, research, forestry, energy, horticulture, organic agriculture, livestock, crop insurance, disaster assistance programs and tax provisions The farm bill is typically passed every five years. The 2008 Farm bill expired on September 30, 2012. Congress extended the 2008 bill for one more year, which caused controversy over the 2013-2014 Farm Bill.
The vast majority of the $1 trillion farm bill was nutrition--roughly 75% of the total bill. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) made up about 72% of the nutrition budget. Crop insurance was the second largest budgetary expense.
Nutrition and federal spending were in the cross hairs of the farm bill debate. Republicans sought cuts to the food assistance programs and Democrats were concerned with crop insurance fraud. In an effort to push through some type of farm bill, the House attempted to split food stamps from farm policy and create two separate bills in September 2013. This would have been the first time since 1973 that food stamps split from farm policy. Despite the split bill being passed in the House, it stalled in the Senate in September 2013.
After the first round of debate in September 2013, Congress did not revisit the bill until early 2014. On January 29, 2014, the U.S. House approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill. The bill passed by a vote of 251-166. The nearly 1,000-page bill reformed and continued various programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that would kick in when prices drop. However, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states. On February 4, 2014, the Democratic controlled Senate approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill.
