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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Congressional Republicans return from a one-week recess under pressure to reach agreement on a budget reconciliation plan, while the Trump administration will listen to concerns about its push to promote domestic shipbuilding.
The budget reconciliation bill that congressional Republicans want to pass this year to enact President Donald Trump’s policy priorities and extend expiring tax cuts is emerging as a possible vehicle to enact portions of a new farm bill, including high reference prices.
The Agriculture Department is one of 16 federal departments and agencies that reported improper payments totaling $162 billion in fiscal 2024, including $10.5 billion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at USDA, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Leaders of USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services committed to releasing the final Dietary Guidelines for Americans ahead of the statutory deadline and said they are looking for ways to make future processes more transparent.
The House GOP kept enough Republicans in line to advance a budget plan that’s aimed at passing all of President Donald Trump’s spending and tax priorities in one giant package. But House and Senate Republicans are far apart on both strategy and details for the budget reconciliation process.
Republicans pushed their skinny budget plan through the Senate early Friday after a nearly 10-hour vote-a-rama that allowed Democrats to force votes on a variety of concerns, including food costs, bird flu and the recent mass firings of government workers. The Senate debate highlighted some major GOP fault lines over spending cuts.
Congressional Republicans are barreling toward a showdown over how much to cut taxes and spending as the Senate and House set to take up rival fiscal 2025 budget resolutions. The Senate could take up its budget plan this week.
The House has released its long-awaited budget resolution bill with instructions for the Agriculture Committee to find policy changes to reduce the deficit by $230 billion.
The House and Senate are racing to reach deals on their respective budget resolutions, with markups scheduled on both sides this week. However, House leadership remains reluctant to accept the Senate’s proposal, even as it struggles to settle internal differences in the party.
