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Thompson calls Thrifty Foods Plan modernization a “questionable change”
Ranking House Ag Committee member GT Thompson would like to see more transparency in USDA’s decision to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and modernize the Thrifty Foods Plan.
“It was a questionable change because we are having a hard time getting an explanation of what was used. Supposedly they followed the directions of the 2018 Farm Bill which laid out four parameters to be evaluated but there has been a general lack of transparency on that.”
He tells Brownfield while farmers are not receiving any more money for products, inflation has increased food prices, calling for some needed changes.
“I can’t say that what this administration has proposed is appropriate because they have not been transparent with their process. So, I am working with my Senate counterparts and reaching out to the congressional budget office to see if we can get the information that we need to really determine if what is being recommended is appropriate.”
The plan, which had not been revised since it was introduced in 1975, now includes more fish, red and orange vegetables, and other foods in line with new dietary guidelines.
Brownfield interviewed Thompson during the 2021 Illinois State Fair.
