Issue Brief 19-02
January 16, 2019
Summary 

The president has signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334), a five-year reauthorization of the farm bill. The enacted bill largely omits dramatic changes in earlier proposals. However, it affects grant programs in many ways, including:

  • amending work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and expanding employment and training services

  • expanding emergency food programs and the Food Insecurity and Nutrition Initiative

  • increasing federal support for rural broadband

  • prioritizing funding for opioid response

  • creating several new grant programs

This Issue Brief examines the law, focusing on the nutrition, rural development, and research titles, which cover most state grant programs—and in particular on SNAP, which accounts for the majority of outlays for programs funded under this and previous farm bills.Â