Senator Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced a new version of the Farm Bill in the Senate. This version includes a transition from NAP to SNAP for Puerto Rico. The most recent House version of the bill removed that transition.
The Farm Bill
The Farm Bill is a very important funding bill, which is usually reauthorized every five years. The last Farm Bill expired in September 2023 and was extended to September 2024. It has expired again.
The Farm Bill includes funding for agriculture, including things like subsidies for farmers, agricultural loans, and funds for conservation. The largest share of the budget goes to nutrition assistance, including food stamps as well as school lunches.
NAP vs. SNAP
SNAP is the food stamps program in the states. It helps needy families pay for food. NAP is the Puerto Rico version of SNAP. It gives less and is harder to qualify for. Puerto Rico was originally included in SNAP, but was cut from SNAP and given the less generous NAP because Congress decided that meeting Puerto Rico’s nutritional needs was too expensive. NAP cut the cost of the program by about 75%
This was intentional. It’s hard to understand the thinking behind it, but documents from the time make it clear: Puerto Rico has a higher level of poverty than any state, and Congress just didn’t want to pay enough to provide for all the people who needed that assistance. Once Puerto Rico becomes a state, Congress will no longer have the option to cut us out of federal programs to save money. States are equal under the law. Territories are not.
The transition
Different versions of the Farm Bill have included or excluded the transition to SNAP for Puerto Rico. There is a partisan divide, with Republicans wanting to reduce funding for SNAP and leave Puerto Rico on NAP. Democrats have a sense of urgency about the program, in part because the Senate will be under Republican control in January.
Congress only has about three weeks left in session before the end of the year. We hope that Puerto Rico’s transition to SNAP will be passed. However, we can’t forget that Congress can take SNAP away from the territory of Puerto Rico at any time in the future. As a state, Puerto Rico would be under the SNAP program and could not have that taken away. If you haven’t yet told your representatives that you want them to admit Puerto Rico as a state, this is a good time to do it.
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