The Farm Bill, an important bill that covers agriculture, nutrition, and conservation expenditures for the entire United States, is finally back in play in Congress, after two years of delays. During that time, there was a lot of discussion about transitioning Puerto Rico to SNAP, the food stamps program for states, from NAP, the much less generous food stamp program used in Puerto Rico.
Instead of the transition plan which would give Puerto Rico equity with the states, the new Farm Bill includes just one mention of Puerto Rico: “The term ‘State’ means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession of the United States.”
If the bill passes the Senate as-is, Puerto Rico will continue to receive NAP benefits, which are financed by a federal block grant much smaller than what the Island would receive under SNAP. There are some changes in the SNAP program, but they will not affect Puerto Rico.
What happened?
The resident commissioner blames it on the Republicans.
Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz has a different explanation:
It’s not the Republicans who have failed us, says Rivera Schatz, but the territorial status which the resident commissioner defends. We have no representation in the Senate or the House and we can’t vote for president, he points out, so we have very little voice in federal decisions. Territory status fails us with nutrition assistance just as it fails us with Medicaid, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, and civil rights in general.
This is demonstrably true. If the House had a Democratic majority, would the NAP-to-SNAP transition have been included in the bill? We don’t know. However, we do know that every Congress can change the rules made by a previous Congress. If Puerto Rico got to join SNAP under this administration, they could be removed again under the next one. Only as a state can Puerto Rico get lasting, real equal rights with states.
Now what?
The Senate and the House will have to agree on the Farm Bill to get it passed. Their inability to do this is the reason that the 2018 Farm Bill is still in force. Blaming the failure of NAP-to-SNAP on the Republicans continues the polarization that keeps Congress from making bills into law. The real problem is Puerto Rico’s territory status. The real solution in statehood. Reach out to your elected representatives and make sure they know that Puerto Rico is ready for the full rights and responsibilities of statehood.
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