date:May 10, 2013
s - formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP - was a record 47.8 million at the end of 2012, up from 46.5 million a year earlier.
Agriculture Committee leaders from both chambers commonly say farm policy is not a partisan issue.
Historically, disputes have split along regional lines that pit cotton and rice growers from the South against corn and soybean farmers of the Midwest. Republicans and Democrats cooperate based more on geography than party affiliation.