Budget Reconciliation Likely to Include SNAP

Politico’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reported that “newly reelected House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday highlighted his and President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to pass one ‘big, beautiful’ budget reconciliation package through Congress and said he aims to have it on Trump’s desk by the end of April.”

“‘Everything’s got to move in the right sequence. And along the way, I think we’re going to keep those trains moving in the right direction and on time,’ Johnson said on ‘Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo.’ ‘And if that happens, we will get it out of the House in early April, maybe as soon as April 3, and then move it over to the Senate,'” Svirnovskiy reported. “In the worst-case scenario, he said, Trump would have a bill ready to sign by Memorial Day.”

“Johnson unveiled his and Trump’s plans to House Republicans in a retreat Saturday,” Svirnovskiy reported. “A single reconciliation package, combining Trump’s priorities on immigration and border enforcement and also on tax reform and energy, is no small task for a House GOP currently working with a 219-215 majority. Top Republicans including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and incoming White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller had advocated a two-bill strategy, with the GOP first passing a border and energy permitting bill before moving on to tax reform.”

NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin and Alexandra Marquez reported that “reconciliation allows Congress to pass party-line policies related to taxes and spending with simple majority votes, suspending the Senate’s usual 60-vote threshold needed to pass legislation.”

Reconciliation Likely to Target SNAP Funding

While it’s currently unknown exactly what would be included in a reconciliation package, agriculture experts and journalists have for months stated that it is likely to include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Agri-Pulse’s Sara Wyant reported back in November that “a Senate aide close to the farm bill strategy told Agri-Pulse that some provisions could be included in a reconciliation bill, including a cut to projected funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Conservation funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 also could theoretically be clawed back.”

The University of Illinois’ Jonathan Coppess agrees, according to reporting from Illinois Farmer Today’s Crystal Reed, saying in late December that “‘any reconciliation process is likely going to include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which runs $110 to $120 billion a year. SNAP covers about 80% of the spending out of the farm bill and serves between 40-42 million Americans to help buy food.’ Coppess said it will be a huge target, along with remaining inflation reduction act conservation dollars.”

On January 3, the liklihood of reconciliation including SNAP increased, when Agri-Pulse’s Rebekah Alvey reported that “shortly after the vote (to elect Mike Johnson as Speaker), members of the House Freedom Caucus shared a letter with their GOP colleagues to explain why they ultimately voted for Johnson, and what they are expecting from his leadership. One of those expectations is that Johnson will ‘ensure any reconciliation package reduces spending and the deficit in real terms with respect to the dynamic score of tax and spending policies under recent growth trends.'”

“The lawmakers also called for a reversal of the ‘massive subsidization of unhealthy foods’ in SNAP to save taxpayer dollars and Make America Healthy Again,” Alvey reported. “Restricting SNAP purchasing is a priority for Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., the lead author of the letter. Harris chairs the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.”

“‘If only SNAP and that conservation money are included in reconciliation and they leave the rest of the Farm Bill to survive on its own in the regulatory process, all bets are off at that point,’ (Coppess) said,” according to reporting from Reed. “The longshot in the process would be that budget reconciliation consumes the entire farm bill.”

Tax Provisions in Reconciliation Package Could Impact 45Z Tax Credits

Roll Call’s David Lerman reported that “in a late Sunday post on his social media platform, Trump made clear that he wants Republicans to unite and get to work quickly on ‘one powerful Bill’ to enact his agenda. ‘Get smart, tough, and send the Bill to my desk to sign as soon as possible,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.”

“Trump wrote that in addition to extensions of his 2017 tax cuts, he wants lawmakers to include his proposal to exempt tip income from taxes. He said some of the package’s costs would be paid for with new import tariffs,” Lerman reported.

But Renewable Fuels Association head Geoff Cooper told Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network’s Mark Magnuson that “45Z clean fuel tax credits, which are key to expanding renewable fuel use in aviation fuel, may have to compete for dollars with President-elect Trump’s efforts to preserve his 2017 tax cuts.”