JUDY WOODRUFF: But, first, let's look at another
piece of legislation that was just approved
by Congress today.
It is the wide-ranging farm bill with a cost
of $867 billion over 10 years.
It reauthorizes a variety of farm and food
programs.
Among other things, this bill would provide
new help for dairy farmers and legalize industrial
hemp.
It also avoids cuts that had been proposed
to the food stamp program.
Our own Lisa Desjardins joins me now from
Capitol Hill to dig into the details.
So, Lisa, remind us, overall, what's in the
bill and why does this bill matter?
LISA DESJARDINS: This bill is critical to
a large part of America that doesn't necessarily
live in cities and towns, but keeps this country
fed.
There are two million farms in this country,
Judy, and that number has been decreasing.
What's more, farmers in America since 2013
have seen their net income -- listen to this
-- drop by half.
What the farm bill does is, it keeps programs
in place that help stabilize farms.
Some of them are subsidy programs, some insurance
programs.
But if it doesn't get reauthorized, farmers
have less stability, and these are people
who basically are Wall Street traders on tractors
every day.
Prices matter.
And this bill helps them get loans and pay
for and plan their next season.
Without it, there's a lot of instability.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, one of the things we mentioned
was dairy farmers.
What kind of help are they getting, and how
does that make a difference?
LISA DESJARDINS: Well, it's significant because
dairy farmers in particular have been hit
by retaliation from the Trump tariffs.
So, let's go through exactly what's happening
in this bill.
This will expand the program that is a safety
net for dairy farmers.
In fact, it will give them seven times the
protection that they had in the last farm
bill.
It would allow more farmers to take advantage
of that dairy price support.
And also, Judy, it's important to note, some
conservatives wanted this bill to tackle the
idea of subsidy reform.
That is not in this bill.
That's a bigger conversation.
That's one reason people like Iowa Senator
Chuck Grassley voted no.
But, overall, dairy farmers are some of the
bigger winners in this bill.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa, another part of the bill
that has gotten a lot of attention is food
stamps, the so-called SNAP program.
Tell us how the bill changes that.
LISA DESJARDINS: So, food stamps make up -- the
spending for food stamps -- 80 percent of
the farm bill's funding.
And there was a huge fight over whether there
should be more work requirements.
Now, the food stamp program, or SNAP, reaches
42 million people.
But there will be no changes that could mean
cuts in that program.
Some conservatives wanted to add work requirements
that would have led to fewer people getting
those benefits.
But that won't happen in this bill.
Instead, Judy, I have learned from multiple
sources on both sides of the Capitol that
the secretary of agriculture, Secretary Perdue,
is expected within the next couple of days
to try and flex administrative power to launch
a new rule that could mean more people, especially
in cities and towns, might have to abide by
work requirements.
Basically, it means cities couldn't opt out
of those work requirements.
We will have to watch for that.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, of course, it's a farm
bill, but there's also language in here that
addresses wildfires.
So, tell us about that.
LISA DESJARDINS: This is pivotal.
There are some new provisions -- and there
have been over the last year -- that allow
for better use -- better guaranteed funding
to fight wildfires.
But, Judy, what's most significant here was
that some conservatives wanted to change rules
allowing for more logging, more clear-cutting,
they say something that would prevent wildfires.
They say environmentalists were getting in
the way.
However, Democrats put up a very large fight.
They said that that was actually a problem,
that too much logging would come from those
changes.
And, in the end, those changes were not made,
so a victory, if you will, for environmentalists
on that part of the bill.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, Lisa, language
in here about the legalization of hemp.
LISA DESJARDINS: Right.
This is a big deal, a potential $20 billion
industry.
This is happening because Senator Mitch McConnell
of Kentucky, a state which has a very large
hemp industry, wants to -- wanted to move
from being a controlled substance, which it
is now, to not a controlled substance.
Judy, quickly, there is an oil that is created
from hemp that doesn't have THC in it.
And this is a victory for Mitch McConnell
personally and for the hemp industry at large,
some of which goes to medical purposes and
other things.
So it's something to watch very closely.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, a lot going on inside
this farm bill, and we are so glad to have
you to help us understand what is there.
Lisa Desjardins at the Capitol, thank you.
