19-05-2025
GOP reconciliation bill inches forward
Presented by
With help from Jennifer Scholtes, Meredith Lee Hill and Samuel Benson
QUICK FIX
— The House Budget Committee clears the way for Republicans' sweeping tax and spending package to move forward.
— Anti-hunger advocates warn the House's cuts to nutrition assistance and other food programs will make people hungrier — and less healthy.
— USDA tees up its reorganization plan for May 27, days after a court order barring further staff reductions is set to expire. The court could extend the pause on staff cuts, however.
HAPPY MONDAY. It's May 19. Welcome to Morning Agriculture. I'm your host Marcia Brown. Have you seen the MAHA Commission's anticipated report or know what's in it? Get in touch at marciabrown@ or in Signal at marciagbrown.68. Follow us @Morning_Ag for more.
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Driving the day
BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL: Lawmakers gave the go-ahead to Republicans' tax and spending package late Sunday night, paving the way for $300 billion in cuts to the nation's largest anti-hunger program. The move comes after holdouts demanded last-minute changes to the bill.
As our Jennifer Scholtes and Meredith Lee Hill write, House Republican leaders have not yet publicly detailed possible changes or briefed the full House GOP Conference, and those concessions to fiscal hawks could endanger support among moderate Republicans wary of changes like speeding up enforcement of Medicaid work requirements and swiftly ending green energy tax perks enacted during the Biden administration.
NUTRITION CUTS: House Agriculture Committee's sweeping portion of the 'big, beautiful bill' includes complicated policy tweaks like limiting updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, the basis for calculating SNAP benefits, stricter work requirements and cutting smaller programs altogether. The proposal saves $300 billion, and is enough for lawmakers to include $60 billion in spending on farm bill programs like crop insurance.
But anti-hunger advocates say this ultimately results in fewer people getting nutrition assistance and, over time, benefits that don't keep pace with food inflation. On average, benefits are about $6 a day.
Time crunch: Stricter work requirements means millions fewer eligible people, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This also means that parents newly forced to meet work requirements will have less time to cook, pushing them toward quick, time-saving meals, many of which are highly processed, explains Benjamin Scharadin, assistant professor of economics at Colby College.
'These fiscal and money pushes might directly be in contrast to the MAHA pushes,' said Scharadin, noting that households with tighter budgets rely on calorie-dense foods.
'Those foods are much more convenient,' he added. 'The exact situation we're talking about with able-bodied workers now, like kids being involved in it. If you have kids, you're rushing to get them from school, and you're working. Convenient foods that are calorie dense and have a high satiation point are huge. But those foods don't necessarily have the nutrition aspect.'
Nutrition education: An anti-obesity initiative at USDA would get the axe under the House approved plan, saving $5 billion. House Republicans say that the program has little evidence of efficacy, citing a 2019 GAO report.
MA readers will remember that supporters say the programming has improved since the report and that killing it contradicts MAHA objectives.
'It's really MAHA for low-income people,' Jerry Mande, adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told your host. 'Not just SNAP recipients, but all low-income people.'
SNAP-Ed supporters have also stood up a new website advocating to save the program.
Impact on citizens: Immigrant rights' advocates are also warning that the proposal would cut SNAP access for lawfully present immigrants, including asylees, survivors of domestic violence and child trafficking. Under the GOP proposal, only U.S. citizens and lawful green card holders would be eligible. Currently, green card holders must wait five years to qualify for SNAP.
These changes will likely impact U.S. citizen children, said Esther Reyes, campaign strategist for the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition. 'This would be tragic if it only affected noncitizens,' she said. 'But for U.S. citizen children, if their parents fall under one of [these categories and] lose access to SNAP, there will be greater food insecurity for the entire family.'
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1 in 4 children in the U.S. live in immigrant families, 89 percent of whom are U.S. citizens, as of 2022.
State burden: The biggest savings come from forcing states to pay a bigger portion of SNAP costs, including shouldering the cost of benefits — starting at roughly 5 percent depending on the state's error rate — and 75 percent of the administrative costs of the program. The plan has prompted some states, including Alabama, to warn that they just can't afford it, and would be forced to cut back benefits. GOP proponents of the plan argue it will incentivize states to root out fraud.
But, but, but: The bill still has a ways to go to become law. And some key ag senators, including Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), are already suggesting the need for 'a do-over.'
AROUND THE AGENCIES
USDA REORG INCOMING: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins plans to announce USDA's reorganization plan and further staff reductions later this month, according to documents obtained by POLITICO your host reported late Friday evening.
Rollins, who has previously said a major reorganization of USDA is forthcoming, plans to announce the details on the morning of May 27, according to the documents. A week later, on June 3, she is expected to announce a third deferred resignation program with a deadline of June 10 for a 'targeted audience.'
The reorganization announcement is set to come four days after the expiration date of a court order prohibiting USDA from following through with any more job cuts and the first work day after Memorial Day weekend.
IN THE STATES
SNAP WAIVERS: As of May 15, seven states have requested permission from USDA to ban junk food, like soda or candy. Last week, Rollins' home state of Texas joined the group. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis became the first Democratic governor to submit a waiver request last week, too.
'We are one of the healthiest states in the nation, and these new SNAP criteria, if approved, will help bring healthier choices into food deserts and help Coloradans stay healthy while supporting Colorado farmers,' Polis said in a statement. 'SNAP provides critical help to Colorado families, and Congress should not cut the food assistance nor shift costs to the states.'
Rollins has promised to rush through the requests, but USDA did not respond to a request for comment when asked for an update on the timeline for waivers.
Refresh: Waivers allow states to make changes to the SNAP program with their state, but they operate like pilots. The changes must be temporary and states must report its success to USDA.
Asked for comment, USDA spokesperson Seth Christensen said in a statement: 'These waivers are still under review and FNS has not approved or denied any at this time.' He added: 'This collaboration includes holding daily technical assistance calls with each submitting state as proposals are under development.'
What's next: Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz told our Samuel Benson that Utah intends to submit its waiver request 'within the next few days.' They must do so before July 1, as mandated by their state legislature.
Row Crops
— Rollins will be in Nebraska today with Gov. Jim Pillen and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.).
— Brazil announced its first outbreak of bird flu on a commercial farm. (Reuters)
— The New York Times asks: What if a grocery store was more like a farmers' market?
— President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said it is 'logistically complicated' to feed hungry Gazans.
THAT'S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line and send us your agriculture job announcements or events: gyarrow@ marciabrown@ jwolman@ sbenson@ rdugyala@ and gmott@
