House to Consider Cuts to Food Stamps

A wide-ranging farm bill the House is considering would cut food stamps by $2 billion a year and make it more difficult for some people to qualify for the domestic food aid program.

Passage of the five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill could depend on the level of cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program. Many House conservatives have said the cuts don't go far enough, while liberals have argued against cuts, saying the bill could take as many as 2 million recipients off the rolls.

The cuts are about 3 percent of the food stamp program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The chamber is expected to begin voting Wednesday on 103 amendments to the farm legislation, including bids to reduce or expand the cuts to food stamps.