SNAP and conservation programs could be on the GOP chopping block as Congressional Republicans write a budget to pay for extending the Trump 2017 tax cuts.  Hill Republicans have circulated a list of possible budget savings including a reported $22 billion by reforming SNAP, something the House Ag Committee farm bill proposed last year.  That, by reigning in future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan used to calculate SNAP benefits is a strategy again opposed by Ag Democrats.  

 

While he refused to address those details, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the budgeting process known as reconciliation is moving forward.

 

“The idea is to have the budget, the underlying piece of the whole reconciliation process, done by late February," Johnson said.  "We would have the reconciliation bill voted on the House floor before Easter. And then, we would have the entire thing done and to the president’s desk for signature by Memorial Day.”

 

That’s a process that could impact the timing and shape of a new Farm Bill, something House Ag Chair GT Thompson discussed with panel Republicans last week.  Thompson is a big fan of SNAP reforms but supports funding climate-smart Ag programs and tax credits like 45Z that could be rolled back to help pay for extending the Trump tax cuts.  Johnson pointed to the fallout if the 2017 tax cuts expire, citing a National Association of Manufacturers report.

 

“This report shows that if we let the Trump tax cuts expire, we’re at risk of losing as many as six million total jobs and 540 billion dollars in employee compensation," Johnson said.  "We cannot fail to extend the Trump tax cuts.”

 

That’s an effort estimated to cost more than $4.5 trillion over ten years.

 

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