Hartzler votes to reduce food stamps while expanding farm subsidy that benefits her

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Missouri, voted Thursday for a bill expanding farm subsidies, of which she has received about $1 million since 1995 — and possibly far more.

The bill would distribute about $430 billion over the next five years to rural and agricultural programs. It also would add a requirement for the roughly 40 million people on SNAP, the federal food stamp program, to work or participate in work training for at least 20 hours per week to earn their monthly average of $125 for groceries. The effect would almost certainly be to reduce the number of SNAP recipients.

For those on food stamps, the work or training requirement would “reduce or eliminate their reliance on assistance and improve the lives of family for years to come,” Hartzler wrote in an op-ed supporting the bill.

Federal data show Hartzler Farms Inc., owned by the representative and her husband, received $995,498 from 1995 to 2016. That’s among the highest totals received by any member of Congress, according to the Environmental Working Group, which collects and tracks the data.

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