National Journal's CongressDaily | June 28, 2001 | By Jerry Hagstrom
The Bush administration wants to reauthorize the food stamp program as part of the farm bill and maintain its "national structure," said Agriculture undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services Eric Bost Wednesday.
Bost's testimony Wednesday before the House Agriculture Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee represents an important statement of administration policy. Both anti-hunger advocates and agricultural lobbyists have said they did not know whether the administration would prefer to deal with nutrition programs in the farm bill or in a welfare reform reauthorization bill in 2002.
Bost said he looks "forward to representing the administration in the process of reauthorizing the food stamp program--the foundation of the nation's nutrition safety net--as part of the farm bill."
He also said the administration "supports reauthorization of the food stamp program, as well as the other important nutrition programs ... that are important components of the farm bill."
Bost mentioned the emergency food assistance program, the food distribution program on Indian reservations and the commodity supplemental food program.
Bost, who served as commissioner of the Texas Department of Human Services when President Bush was governor, said he wants to simplify food stamp application and qualification procedures.
He said Congress and the administration "should consider" whether administrative flexibility would increase participation. But he also said, "We need to preserve the program's national structure" and pointed out that "the national eligibility and benefit rules of the food stamp program form a safety net across all states."
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