Hoosier Ag Today 

House GOP Proposes Cutting $290 Billion from SNAP to Increase Spending for Farm Bill Programs

Kevin
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Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA-15), who also serves as the Chair of the House Ag Committee, sits with Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN-04) during an ag policy listening session held in Indiana. Photo: Eric Pfeiffer / Hoosier Ag Today.

House Republicans are proposing a $290 billion cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade. The GOP plan uses some of the money saved to increase spending on commodity programs, crop insurance, and other Farm Bill programs as part of the House Budget Reconciliation Bill.

The draft text released on Monday shows the bill’s agriculture provisions would increase the PLC reference prices by ten percent to 20 percent, in line with the Farm Bill that the House Ag Committee approved last year.

The $230 billion instructed savings target will be reached by forcing states to pay for part of the SNAP program using a sliding scale based on their payment error rates, beginning in fiscal 2028, and would pay between five and 25 percent of the benefits costs, according to Politico.

The individual limit for commodity program payments would be increased from $125,000 to $155,000 and indexed for inflation. Funding for EQIP and CSP would rise to $3.26 billion and $1.38 billion, respectively.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Ag Committee, reacted to the potential $290 billion in cuts to SNAP proposed by Republicans on the House Ag Committee.

“Instead of working with Democrats to lower costs from President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, House Republicans have decided to pull the rug out from under families by cutting the SNAP benefits that 42 million Americans rely on to put food on the table. This means more seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and children will go to bed hungry,” she said.

Klobuchar added it will mean job losses and lost wages for everyone who is a part of the food system, from truck drivers to local grocers.

“Ultimately, these cuts threaten the farm bill coalition that has delivered bipartisan support for farmers, families, and rural communities for decades, and will make it harder for Congress to pass a bipartisan farm bill,” she said.

Source: NAFB Farm Service