Following the passage of the House of Representatives' comprehensive reconciliation bill, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), Senate committees have begun to release pieces of their own reconciliation package, including the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Senate Agriculture proposal functions like the House version in that it achieves cost savings by reducing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and includes mandatory funding for numerous Farm Bill programs. While the two bills are similar, the Senate version would have net savings of $144 billion in comparison to the Congressional Budget Office estimate of $238 billion for the House Agriculture proposal. The difference in cost savings is one of the numerous deviations Senate committees are making from H.R. 1 and may prove challenging in brokering a final agreement between the House and Senate.
By making steep cuts to mandatory nutrition programs and
addressing certain pressing commodity payment and reference price issues, both
usually considered in the Farm Bill, this package, like the House version, puts
at risk the delicate balance of Republican and Democratic priorities required
to build momentum for a Farm Bill every five years. The current Farm Bill is in
its second one-year extension.
Similarly, SNAP changes which propose to shift a portion of
benefit costs to states could have a major impact on state budgets.
One key provision in the bill includes SNAP and SNAP
Education:
- SNAP-Education would lose
mandatory funding for the program in FY 2025, in alignment with the House
proposal.
- In addition to policies
that would shrink the pool of eligible recipients, the bill requires
future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, which sets benefit rates, to be
cost-neutral and matches the House proposal to limit benefit indexing.
- Differing from the House,
the Senate removes the 5 percent baseline cost care for states and caps
cost-share at 15% based on states’ error rates rather than the House plan
which has a 25% cap. This would be the first time SNAP benefit costs have
been delegated to states and would have a very large impact on state
budgets.
Supported by USDA-NIFA through the AFRI-National Extension
Clearinghouse for Industry and the Workforce (NECIW) (2023-67037-40533),
AgriProspects will award up to five two-year grants of $200,000 each to support
regional or national-scale projects that build Cooperative Extension’s capacity
and readiness in two focus areas: 1. Digital credentialing initiatives for
adult agricultural workforce development in rural and urban areas; or 2.
Artificial Intelligence tools and resources to support the agricultural sector
and supply chain and the adult agricultural workforce in rural and urban areas.
Learn more here.
Bipartisan 4-H Caucus Launches in 119th Congress to Equip Youth for Work and Life
On June 10, U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Amy
Klobuchar (D-MN), along with Representatives Glenn "GT"
Thompson (R-PA-15), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Andy Harris
(R-MD-01), and Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02), have formed
the bipartisan 4-H Congressional Caucus in the 119th Congress.
The Caucus will serve as a platform to advance federal
policy and investment in Cooperative Extension’s 4-H programs, which reach
nearly 6 million youth around the country through hands-on learning in
agriculture, STEM, health, and civic engagement. With strong bipartisan
leadership, the Caucus will elevate the importance of positive youth
development and build a workforce and society that’s prepared for the
challenges of tomorrow.
Caucus leaders are united in their support of 4-H’s Beyond Ready initiative—a
bold effort to equip 10 million young people with the skills, confidence, and
support they need to thrive in work, life, and community. From career readiness
to civic leadership, 4-H youth are gaining real-world experience through locally
rooted programs led by Land-grant Universities and their Cooperative Extension
partners.
