Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow questioned USDA officials last week at a hearing about the categorial eligibility rule proposed for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Stabenow says the USDA is ignoring what lawmakers included in the farm bill for SNAP. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says the rule the Ag Department proposed would remove close to a million children from automatic enrollment for free meals.

He agrees with Stabenow the Ag Department was using a flawed analysis with their proposed rule. They were also claiming the SNAP changes wouldn’t have much of an impact on children needing the program.

Johnson says many of the children needing the SNAP benefits are from a farm or ranch.

The USDA has now reopened the comment period on their SNAP proposal.