The House and Senate versions of the bill have roughly the same funding increases for anti-hunger programs in the nutrition title. However, due to the different measures that were used to pay for these increases in both bills, the House funds the programs for ten years while the Senate version only funds them through 2012. If the Senate funding prevails in conference, benefit levels would return to current law after 2012, effectively reducing the benefits of 10 million people.
The House liberals' attempt to assert themselves comes in the form of a "Dear Colleague" letter, which is how congress members formally communicate to each other. In this letter, which has 153 signatories, they threaten to withdraw overall support for the bill. This doesn't bode well for Pelosi, who's been trying hard to paint a happy face on this woefully inadequate bill.
A spokesperson for Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Ag. Committee, repeats what we've heard again and again - of course we all want to see these increases be permanent, but there's just not enough money to go around. There seems to be plenty of money for the crop insurance companies though, Mr. Harkin and co.
Vote Result
Score: 10.0, Votes: 1