Food stamps fight threatens farm bill before it’s out of the gate

A fight over how tough to make work requirements in the food stamp program is already threatening to derail the House farm bill, which some see as one of the only shots for bipartisan legislation this year. Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee publicly revolted last week after learning that Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) was eyeing stricter work requirements for some 8 million recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, widely known as food stamps. Now, some influential conservatives are saying the bill may not go far enough to restrict access, especially since Republicans control both branches of Congress and the White House.