Ag Policy Blog

House Ag Leaders Seek to Protect SNAP in Reconciliation as Farm Bill Faces Budget Hurdles

Chris Clayton
By  Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor
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House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson, R-Pa., and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., the committee's ranking member, speak to reporters about some of the challenges they face trying to pass a farm bill in the current Congress. Thompson and Craig were at the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual meeting in San Antonio on Monday. (DTN photo by Chris Clayton)

SAN ANTONIO (DTN) -- The chairman and ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee on Monday seemed to offer a unified front opposing potential $300 billion in cuts to the nation's largest nutrition program.

Speaking to members of the American Farm Bureau Federation, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., and Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., expressed optimism about passing a farm bill this year, but they also highlighted some of the major hurdles they face.

"The only way we get a farm bill done is if we get it done in a bipartisan basis," Craig said, pointing to the narrow GOP margin in the House and three dozen or so Republicans who will not support a farm bill.

Thompson is heading to Miami where congressional Republicans are holding a retreat to talk about how they will pass a budget reconciliation bill to satisfy some of President Trump's economic agenda around border security, energy and tax cuts. A proposed list of funding cuts offered by the House Budget Committee includes potentially cutting $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which includes rolling back higher benefit levels approved by the Biden administration under what is called the Thrifty Food Plan.

Thompson made it clear he doesn't want to see any cuts to SNAP in the reconciliation process. Thompson noted SNAP is critical for children, senior citizens and people living with disabilities.

"I'm not willing to see any cuts to nutrition benefits and we are not looking to roll back the Thrifty Food Plan," he said.

Thompson said he believes most lawmakers would support more scrutiny of nutrition programs to reduce fraud and make sure funds are spent appropriately. Some states have pressed for tightening standards about the healthiness of food purchases under SNAP.

Looking at other challenges with the farm bill, Craig brought up reference prices. She suggested the reference price increases in the House farm bill favored southern crops over Midwest crops.

"Certainly, reference prices are low. We've got to bring them up. We've got to do that equitably across the country," she said.

RECONCILIATION, SNAP DEBATE

Once Republicans have their reconciliation plans, they send notices to committees detailing what is expected of them to cut or fund. "It's a train that's hard to stop," Thompson said.

Budget reconciliation will be a "rocky road" for House Democrats, who will oppose any proposals to cut SNAP, Craig said. She pointed to the documents floating around showing $300 billion in SNAP cuts. "I know that's not what GT wants. It's not what he supports, and we will certainly see what happens. We will not be in favor of rolling back any of the increases in SNAP."

Craig noted she supports at least some of the tax cuts from 2017 and wants to see them extended.

The House Agriculture Committee advanced a farm bill last year that never got a vote from the full House, mainly because Democrats were opposed to proposed reductions to SNAP as well as taking away the USDA secretary's control of Commodity Credit Corporation funds. Those funding shifts, however, were the basis for increasing reference prices for commodities in the House bill. Thompson acknowledged he will have to look for different "pay-fors" when drafting a new farm bill this year.

"But we need to find probably $70 billion to pay for the enhanced safety nets and doubling of the trade programs and the research and all of the things that are in there," he said. "But I think we can do that."

That may require trying to find funding from other committees in Congress, Thompson said, which has been done before to pay for a farm bill.

Congressional leaders do recognize that agriculture also needs a stronger safety net, Thompson said. He pointed to the $10 billion in economic aid that Congress passed back in December.

"Getting economic relief for farmers isn't something that normally happens," he said.

PROPOSITION 12

Chris Hoffman, a pork producer and president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, asked how Congress will address California's Proposition 12 and a similar Massachusetts law that require farmers in other states to meet specific animal-housing standards to sell in their states.

"We're hearing about other states looking at those initiatives and trying to create ways that we pig farmers are raising our livestock and really putting an economic hurt to us," Hoffman said.

The state standards are leading to more exports, but lowering volumes of domestic sales as a result.

Thompson noted the unintended consequences in California to pork prices have gotten to the point where some grocers in the state are selling bacon by the slice. "What we're finding is the market is getting tougher and tougher to sell into California, and folks at lower incomes, by and large, are not eating pork at this point because they can't afford it."

Thompson said he wants a fix in the farm bill that will ensure interstate commerce continues.

Craig said hog farmers in Minnesota are engaged on that issue and she noted a lot of exports go out of California as well. A problem, she said, is that the way some of the solutions are written for Proposition 12 would also invalidate a lot of other state laws. She said an overbroad provision in the farm bill could affect 40 other laws in Minnesota alone.

"So, we just have to make sure we know what we're getting ourselves into," Craig said.

E15

Dan Glessing, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau asked about the status for passing year-round E15 nationwide.

There was a provision at the end-of-Congress funding bill, but it was pulled before the vote. Craig said she and others will keep working on E15 and said she "was devastated" that it was taken out. She said even Democratic governors have called for E15, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"So, when California realizes they need E15, something is changing in this country," she said.

Craig added she was critical of the Biden administration's aggressive focus on electric vehicles because that overlooked the value of transitioning to more biofuels. Craig also touched on the value of aviation fuel, saying "We need new markets."

Thompson said E15 brings a lot of value for farmers and lowers costs for consumers as well.

"We could use all of your help on this. The general public needs to be educated. If this is important to you, you need to be telling the story -- of how this reduces the costs of fueling up your vehicle, how this reduces emissions, and quite frankly, how it helps our farmers as a market, and also how it does not displace food because that is the other kind of myth that is out there," Thompson said.

Thompson said the committee will hold a hearing in February looking at the overall state of the rural economy.

Also see, "AFBF President Zippy Duvall Urges Congress to Act on Ag Labor, Farm Bill and Tax Reform," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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