Washington, D.C. – Senator Johnson released the following comments on his vote today on the farm bill conference report:

“The Agricultural Act of 2014, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, is deceptively misnamed.  It should be called the Food Stamp Act of 2014, because food stamp spending – or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) – makes up 79%, or $756 billion, of its $956 billon 10-year total spending.

“Like most programs rooted in the New Deal and the Great Society, the food stamp program has experienced exponential growth. In the 1970s, when food stamps and agriculture subsidies became unfortunately linked, only 5 percent of Americans received food benefits. In 2000, approximately 6 percent, or 17 million people, were on food stamps. Participation rates vary based on economic conditions, but over the last two decades, they ranged between 6 and 10 percent of Americans. Today, 15 percent of the U.S. population (nearly 48 million people) are dependent on food stamps — and we are four and a half years into the Obama ‘recovery.’

“The food stamp explosion really began with the 2002 "farm bill," which dramatically expanded benefits and weakened eligibility standards. As a result, the cost of the program doubled between 2001 and 2006. Thanks to President Obama’s stimulus, it doubled once again between 2008 and 2012.

“It is well past time for Washington to stop blocking needed reforms and long overdue fiscal discipline. Food stamps and farm policy should be addressed in separate bills. As a result, I could not support this bill.”

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