Farm Bill Is Likely to Set Off a Welfare Fight in Congress
- Shift toward job training faces opposition from Democrats
- Congressional revamp of U.S. social programs stalled
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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The only major congressional debate over U.S. social-welfare policy this year may be sparked by an unlikely source: a farm bill.
The roughly $865 billion measure introduced in the House on Thursday seeks to shift funding in the food-stamp program toward job training, a move Agriculture Chairman Michael Conaway, a Republican from Texas, said is necessary for recipients to develop skills needed to fill open jobs and make themselves self-sufficient. Democrats pounced on the plan, which would reduce overall enrollment.