House Republicans are moving forward with their proposed budget plan today, despite continued pushback from hardline conservatives. The draft budget resolution that the Budget Committee will debate today calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts and $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.  

Take note: The House Agriculture Committee would be directed to cut $230 billion over 10 years. Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., tells Agri-Pulse that would require reducing SNAP benefits, but he doesn’t think the Senate would go along with a cut that size. Thompson says he wanted a lower number. 

But, but, but:  Some members of the House Freedom Caucus don’t think $1.5 trillion in cuts is enough. For example, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he hopes to see another $500 billion in spending reductions added in committee.  

Another Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, wants to repeal most, if not all, of the Inflation Reduction Act, which could eliminate the new 45Z tax credit for biofuels. Norman acknowledged that members from biofuel-heavy districts are trying to protect those incentives. 

“Nothing’s been decided on that,” Norman said. “The bottom line: We got to get to 218 and if we just get the other in Medicaid [cuts], that will allow us to reach the goal.” 

Take note: Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, said the biofuel caucus has made it clear to leadership that cutting biofuel and sustainable aviation fuel incentives included in the IRA could be a red line for its members. 

RFK Jr., Rollins set for Senate votes

Brooke Rollins and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are set for Senate confirmation today. Rollins’ nomination to be ag secretary hasn’t been controversial, while RFK Jr. appears to have solidified the GOP support he needs to overcome solid Democratic opposition.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said on social media Wednesday that she would back Kennedy’s nomination despite concerns about his vaccine skepticism.

Leavitt: Reciprocal tariff announcement due Thursday 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump will unveil new reciprocal tariffs today ahead of a visit from the Indian prime minister.

Trump has said that a reciprocal tariff could see U.S. trade partners subjected to the same tariff rates that they apply on U.S. exports. “Very simply it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” he said last weekend.

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Take note: Average U.S. tariffs on agriculture imports are lower than many of its trading partners. But Texas A&M University agricultural economist Luis Ribera tells Agri-Pulse that’s how the U.S. keeps food prices down.

“Food prices in the U.S. as a percentage of disposable income [are] very low,” Ribera says. “We're really good at producing the products that we're good at producing, and then the rest we import — and we import with very low or no tariffs at all.”

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Senate Finance Committee advances Trump’s USTR pick

The Senate Finance Committee approved Jamieson Greer’s nomination for U.S. Trade Representative 15-12 on Wednesday.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, R.I., was the only Democrat to join the Republicans on the committee in voting for Greer. Greer served as chief of staff to USTR Robert Lighthizer in Trump’s first term. Ranking member Ron Wyden, Ore., and other committee Democrats said they fear Greer would “rubber stamp” Trump’s tariff proposals.

GAO faults Biden administration on SNAP bookkeeping changeRepublicans in Congress and USDA seized on a Government Accountability Office report Wednesday to criticize the Biden administration’s management of SNAP.

GAO found that the way USDA recorded obligations under the program violates a law that requires agencies to record the full amount of their obligations against the funds that are available when those obligations are incurred. That “point of obligation for SNAP benefits is when appropriations for such payments have been enacted and are available for obligation, not when USDA takes action as part of the process to pay benefits.”

House Ag Committee spokesperson Ben Goldey said USDA had improperly used 2023 funds to cover 2024 benefits, creating “a potential funding shortfall that could impact future recipients and force taxpayers to cover the gap.”

USDA chief of staff Kailee Tkacz Buller also criticized the previous administration: “The Trump administration will immediately correct this egregious action, making certain material weaknesses like this do not happen again,” she said in a statement.

Take note: The GAO review was requested by former USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong. 

Agency watchdogs, including Fong, sue over firings

Fong is among eight inspectors general who are suing Trump and several agency heads over their termination. In the lawsuit, the IGs say their removal violated federal law, which requires the president to notify Congress at least 30 days prior to removal and provide a “substantive, case-specific rationale.” 

Take note: Fong received an email from White House Presidential Personnel Office Director Sergio Gor alerting her of her termination on Jan. 25 due to “changing priorities.” However, she returned to work two days later and conducted several meetings “before USDA employees cut off her access to IT systems, took possession of her computer and phone, and deactivated her badge,” the lawsuit states.

It went on, "After 23 years of decorated service as USDA IG, she gathered her personal belongings and left the building."

Final word

“I’m actually counting on what normally happens: the Senate will moderate that.” – House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., on the $230 billion spending cut his panel would be required to make under the House budget resolution. 

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