Republicans in House Agriculture Committee Slash SNAP Food Assistance by $290 Billion.
Republicans advance their war on the poor by cutting nutrition benefits to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and the ultra-wealthy. The GOP Agriculture budget proposal also boosts some farm programs.
The House Agriculture Republicans voted their budget reconciliation package out of the Agriculture Committee tonight (May 14, 2025) on a party-line 29-25 vote after a two-day budget markup. The Republican plan was released by Chair Glenn Thompson (R-PA) late Monday night, one day before the budget markup.
The new GOP plan includes approximately $290-$319 billion in cuts to SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps) over the next decade through a variety of methods. As part of the plan, states would have to shoulder the burden of cost-sharing SNAP using a formula based on “error rates” in states. The cuts would have serious consequences for poor and working class people, as well as for state budgets. Rural people, rural grocers, and rural economies will be hit especially hard.
While the Republicans on the Committee tried to present their proposal as “not a cut,” Democrats slammed them repeatedly for taking food away from hungry families struggling to pay for groceries in the Trump economy. Democrats also complained that the proposal was released just 24 hours before the markup negotiations, and the cuts are being used to pay for large tax cuts for the multi-millionaires and wealthy corporations. Democrats offered numerous amendments in an attempt to cancel or delay the cuts, but none of the amendments passed.
The GOP House Agriculture budget reconciliation package also increased reference prices for crops that trigger government payments to farmers. Much of these benefits will go to some of the largest farmers in the country, particularly those that grow cotton, rice, and peanuts. The plan also boosts crop insurance programs, and includes an expansion of base acres.
Many Democrats spoke in favor the farm program increases, but stressed that these changes should be made through the normal Farm Bill negotiation process. Democrats also offered a variety of amendments related to expanding farm and forestry programs, agriculture research, or honoring Trump Administration canceled farmer contracts, but those were also rejected by Republicans under Chair Thompson’s statements saying they don’t comply with the GOP budget reconciliation process.
In addition, the GOP House Agriculture budget package proposed moving Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding into the conservation title budget baseline and removed climate sideboards as a priority for selecting conservation cost-share awards for farmers.
All of these programs are traditionally negotiated through the Farm Bill, but the Republicans have been unable to pass a Farm Bill using the traditional bipartisan process. The currently operating 2018 Farm Bill expires September 30, 2025. This budget bill will have an enormous impact on future Farm Bill negotiations.
During the vast majority of the markup, nearly all Republican members other than Chair Thompson were not in the room participating in the process (NOTE—not doing their jobs). Even when sitting in their chairs, Republicans in almost all cases refused to speak on amendments or provide reasons or data for their refusal to pass any amendment, even though many GOP members had previously offered identical amendments or proposals in the Agriculture Committee. Thompson ultimately cut the amendment process short leaving 44 Democratic amendments without discussion or a vote.
The Agriculture Committee budget package will now be added to the larger Republican House budget draft—the GOP “megabill”—that also includes hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicaid and other programs. A full House floor vote is expected soon. It is unclear at this point if Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has the votes to pass the megabill, nor is there a clear path to passing a compatible bill through the Senate.
The Cocklebur will have additional information about the proposed SNAP cuts and farm program changes in coming days.
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