RALEIGH, N.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Thursday on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, more commonly known as the Farm Bill.

While the name might imply it will influence only the country's agriculture industry, the impact extends far beyond that. At stake in this year's legislation are measures that would institute work requirements for SNAP recipients.

It might sound like a reasonable expectation on the surface – but Beth Messersmith, North Carolina campaign director for MomsRising, said the implications run deep in the Tar Heel State.

"When we talk about the Farm Bill, it's not something vague that happens in Washington," she said. "It's going to have very real impacts here at home, and it's particularly going to hit hard parents with young children, those with disabilities, those caring for someone with disabilities and our seniors."

North Carolina is the 10th hungriest state in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and at least one in seven families struggles to put food on its table daily.

More than half of SNAP recipients aleady work, Messersmith said, and those who do not often are incapable of working. Without the benefits, many will rely on community food pantries, already struggling to meet the needs of their communities.

Messersmith said the new work requirements don't take into account fluctuating hours of many service-industry jobs and related needs that come from working, such as child care and transportation.

"If they saw their hours cut at work, they could be at risk of losing their SNAP benefits for up to a year," she said. "Seniors, for example; if they can't meet the minimum number of work requirements because of age discrimination, they would be at risk of losing the SNAP benefits they rely on. "

While the legislation starts at the federal level, Messersmith said it will fall to the states to find funding to enforce the legislation.

"States are going to have to provide increased job training and employment, but it doesn't provide meaningful funding to help states do that," she said, "and it's going to say that states have to track the work hours of these 6 million to 7 million SNAP recipients every month, but it really doesn't provide the funding to make that happen."

The Farm Bill would cut SNAP funding by $17 billion, a savings partly needed to cover the cost of the tax cuts passed by Congress last year. Its text is online at agriculture.house.gov.

Reporting by North Carolina News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the Park Foundation.


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An annual report shows Minnesota now tops 62,000 clean-energy jobs, a new state record. Federal and state policies are fueling growth. However, project developers signal a need for a robust pipeline of workers. Clean Energy Economy Minnesota's latest summary says that in 2023, jobs tied to non-fossil fuel energy sources grew nearly five times faster than the state's overall economy.

Gregg Mast, Clean Energy Economy Minnesota executive director, credits the federal Inflation Reduction Act, as well as a state law requiring carbon-free electricity by 2040, for helping the sector move further past pandemic disruptions.

"The future looks very bright with jobs in the sector, and we expect to see these numbers grow by another 6% or more this year," he explained.

Industry leaders say solar, wind and similar projects also are doing a better job in providing strong wages and benefits to those hired to construct these systems. But some firms hope for more training opportunities so they can have enough engineers and other experts design projects in the development queue. While election outcomes could impact certain government incentives, advocates remain optimistic about future growth.

Andy Kim, president of EVS Engineering in the Twin Cities-area, which specializes in the solar-energy substation and battery-storage markets, said over the past decade, they've grown from about 35 staff members to nearly 200. The hard part is finding enough people to fill the accelerated pace of openings.

"It's an industry where people want to go," he said. "It's also an industry where our educational system doesn't have the track record of putting those people out because it's a new industry."

Roughly 40 colleges around the country now offer renewable-energy engineering degree programs. But Kim suggested that many more need to follow suit to meet future demand. Other institutions and technical schools are adding other courses tied to the clean-energy sector.

Arizona workers, retirees and small business owners say they'll be left to pick up the slack when the wealthy and big corporations don't pay their fair share in taxes. They argue that'll be the case if former President Donald Trump's 2017 tax code gets extended in 2025.

Linda Somo, president of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, contends the tax code is not balanced and favors the rich. Workers in 2016 who made less than $114,000 a year saw no change in earnings, while top executive salaries increased , according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Somo added the issue needs to be revisited before it gets renewed in 2025. She was in D.C. last month and spoke to Arizona lawmakers.

"Once we have a new Congress in session, after January, they could start closing some loopholes, even if it's not the actual tax law," Soto explained. "There are some things they could do to tweak that law ahead of time."

Republicans argue the tax plan would lead to economic growth. In 2017, the Department of Treasury claimed the law would increase tax revenues by $1.8 trillion over ten years. But Somo said she views the tax code as something damaging to the middle class, and wants to see a more equitable tax code be considered.

Somo, a retired teacher, says a more just tax code would translate to better funding for public education, better access to health care and a stronger social net for all Americans.

"It really ticks me off when I think, 'OK, I pay 15% and someone who is a billionaire probably is paying a far less percent because they can take advantage of all kinds of loopholes,'" she continued.

Somo encouraged all Arizonans to get informed and voice their opinions on the tax code to their state legislators. She said if lawmakers are only hearing from those who can donate big money to their campaigns, they'll forget about those who are impacted the most.

A new study by the Missouri Budget Project calls out some opposing views to the ballot measure known as Proposition A and included data to debunk them as "myths."

If it passes next month, Proposition A would raise Missouri's minimum wage from $12.30 an hour to $15 by 2026. Opponents said the increase would mostly affect young adults and teenagers.

Lindsey Baker, director of research for the Missouri Budget Project, disagreed. She said debunking the myth of whom the minimum wage increase affects is one of her organization's top priorities.

"One thing that people are often unaware of is just how many kids and families would benefit from this," Baker pointed out. "Often people have a stereotypical image of who 'minimum wage workers' are and really, they are all kinds of people."

The report shows one in four Missouri children lives in a household that would see its income rise with an increase in the minimum wage. Proposition A would also guarantee paid sick leave for more 700,000 Missouri workers who currently do not have it.

Opponents have said increasing the minimum wage would be bad for businesses and the economy, with the potential for job loss. Baker stressed it is also a myth.

"Consistently, when you look at before and after Missouri's own minimum wage increase that was implemented in 2019, we see that all of those things that were predicted by opponents that would happen -- job loss, all of those things -- really didn't happen," Baker outlined. "In fact, we did very well as a state after that."

The study indicates Missouri's unemployment rate went down faster than the national average and faster than each of the neighboring states not increasing their minimum wage. Baker added it is consistent with prior data suggesting a hike in the minimum wage increases employment, in part by reducing turnover among workers.


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