Reconciliation bill targets SNAP, extends Trump tax cuts
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Negotiations continue on Capitol Hill for the reconciliation process, with key committees advancing their portions of the bill on Wednesday.
No Democratic amendments made it into the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill', which aims to cut $1.5 trillion from federal programs and services to pay for $4.5 trillion in proposed tax cuts.
'The poor decisions that are being made here in Congress, are going to have significant effects. People are looking for certainty right now and all they're getting is just stupid politics from Washington. We need to get the job done for the people back home,' said U.S. Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.)
Sorensen sits on the House Agriculture Committee, which is tasked with finding $230 billion in cuts. But the Republican-led committee cut even more than that.
Wednesday's bill contains $300 billion in cuts from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps. The bill increases the age requirement for SNAP from 54 to 64 for able-bodied adults with children. It also shifts the direct cost of food benefits from the federal government to the states.
'We need to make sure that we're doing right by our American farmers, by those that are getting up early in the day, working late at night, working to feed their families. Instead, what are we doing? We're looking at taking away the ability for people to put food on the table, literally, that's what we just did in the Agriculture Committee,' said Sorensen, who voted against the bill.
Nearly two million Illinoisans, or one in seven people, depend on SNAP benefits to meet their nutritional needs, according to the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services.
Sorensen lashed at his Republican colleagues, accusing them of prioritizing billionaires over the middle class.
'The only reason that they're doing what they're doing today is to give Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, and all of the rich fat cats, all of their tax breaks and put it onto the backs of working people. And so, let's call it out for what it is. It's a changing of how our government is working. It should be for the people by the people, but that's not what's going on today,' he said.
U.S. Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. The committee's bill makes Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent and increases the child tax credit.
Some of LaHood's provisions made it in as well. The 'Health Saving for Families Act' makes health savings accounts (HSA) more accessible.
'The House Ways and Means Committee voted to provide hardworking Americans, seniors, small businesses, and farmers with much-needed and immediate tax relief,' said LaHood. 'It is critical that Congress pass the One, Big, Beautiful Bill as soon as possible to give rocket fuel to the United States' economy.'
The committee bills now head to the House Budget Committee to combine into the legislative package.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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