House Republican leaders are trying to resolve sharp differences over the giant budget reconciliation bill after a weekend delay in the Budget Committee amid a clash between hardline conservatives and some Northeast moderates.

The Budget Committee was defeated Friday, 16-21, but advanced during a rare Sunday night session on a party-line vote, 17-16. Four GOP conservatives – Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Chip Roy of Texas, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Andrew Clyde of Georgia – voted "present" Sunday night amid ongoing negotiations over the shape of the legislation that will be put on the House floor. 

Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told Democrats that the legislation hadn't been altered as of Sunday night.

"The bill has not changed. There are no formal or final changes," he said.

After the committee vote, the House Freedom Caucus board issued a statement that said in part, “As written, the bill continues increased deficits in the near term with possible savings years down the road that may never materialize. Thanks to discussions over the weekend, the bill will be closer to the budget resolution framework we agreed upon in the House in April, but it fails to actually honor our promise to significantly correct the spending trajectory of the federal government and lead our nation towards a balanced budget.”

The stakes for agriculture in the overall bill are significant. The bill extends and expands key tax benefits, including the Section 199A deduction for small business income, and provides $60 billion for farm bill programs, including higher reference prices in the Price Loss Coverage program, increased premium subsidies for the supplemental coverage option in crop insurance, and higher funding for trade promotion programs.

“While there are still a few issues being resolved from members on and off committee, moving forward with our Budget markup provided the clarification and catalyst we needed to keep us on track for final passage,” Budget Committee Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said after the bill failed on Friday. “Passing a big and beautiful bill takes time and hard work.” 

Conservatives led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, are complaining that the bill delays spending cuts while frontloading tax benefits, and they say it doesn’t go far enough to cut funding for Medicaid.

“This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” Roy told Budget Committee colleagues.

“The fact of the matter is, on the spending, what we’re dealing with here is tax cuts and spending a massive front-loaded deficit increase. That’s the truth. … Deficits will go up in the first half of the 10-year budget window. And we all know it’s true, and we shouldn’t do that.”

A group of Northeast Republicans, meanwhile, is unhappy with the bill’s new $30,000 limit on the deduction for state and local taxes. They say that limit is too low, although it’s a major increase over the existing limit of $10,000 imposed in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

On Saturday, Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., suggested allowing the top tax rate to increase to offset the cost of a higher state and local tax (SALT) deduction.

“It’s a fiscally responsible move that reflects the priorities of the new Republican Party: protect working families, address the deficit, fix the unfair SALT cap, and safeguard programs like Medicaid and SNAP—without raising taxes on the middle class,” he said in a post on X.

President Donald Trump exhibited some frustration with the continued divisions among House Republicans, demanding in a post, “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, “THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!” Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need.

“The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn’t help our Voters. We don’t need “GRANDSTANDERS” in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”

Hoskins, Hutchins get confirmation hearing

Also this week, the Senate Agriculture Committee meets on Wednesday ahead of the week-long Memorial Day recess to consider two more nominees for USDA: Dudley Hoskins to serve as USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs and Scott Hutchins to be USDA undersecretary for research, education, and economics.

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Hoskins, who joined the Senate Agriculture Committee staff in 2021 after leaving USDA, would oversee the Agricultural Marketing Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. While at USDA, Hoskins was chief of staff for marketing and regulatory programs from 2017-2019 and then a senior adviser in the department from 2019 to 2021. 

Hutchins served in the first Trump administration as deputy undersecretary for the REE mission area, which includes the Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Office of the Chief Scientist.

Kid-focused MAHA report expected

Also this week, the Trump administration’s new Make American Healthy Again commission is due to issue recommendations for overhauling U.S. food policy. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the commission led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other Trump cabinet members will release "an initial Make our Children Healthy Again Assessment and Strategy outlining the potential root causes of the childhood chronic disease epidemic."

The possible causes are expected to include diets, environmental factors, government policies and food production techniques. The report is expected to shape the commission’s future work. 

The bulk of the commission’s work has been held behind closed doors. As a result, industry groups and lawmakers have written to the panel urging them to use sound science, particularly as rumors circulate about the panel linking glyphosate to negative health outcomes.

The International Fresh Produce Association is among the groups trying to shape the commission’s report. At the center of IFPA’s recommendations to the commission is a “need for a systemic, nationwide approach to increase fruit and vegetable consumption — a proven strategy for driving meaningful, lasting improvements in health outcomes,” IFPA said.

Kennedy will appear before the Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday, and FDA commissioner Marty Makary is scheduled to testify Thursday before the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. 

Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EDT):

Monday, May 19

1:30 p.m. – Agri-Pulse webinar, “Economic Stakes: How Thoroughbred Racing Fuels Rural Economies.”

4 p.m. – USDA releases Crop Progress report.

Tuesday, May 20

10:00 a.m. – House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, 2008 Rayburn. 

10:00 a.m. – House Oversight Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee hearing, “Mandates, Meddling, and Mismanagement: The IRA’s Threat to Energy and Medicine,” HVC-210 Capitol. 

10:00 a.m. – House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee Environment hearing with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Lee Zeldin, 2123 Rayburn. 

10:00 a.m. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Dirksen 419. 

10:10 a.m. – House Science, Space, and Technology Environment Subcommittee hearing, “Innovations in Agrichemicals: AI’s Hidden Formula Driving Efficiency,” 2318 Rayburn. 

10:30 a.m. – Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dirksen 124. 

11 a.m. – Rabobank releases annual BBQ Index

2 p.m. – Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Dirksen 138. 

Wednesday, May 21

U.S. Meat Export Federation Spring Conference through Friday, Fort Worth, Texas.

10:00 a.m. –  House Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to consider the 2026 Budget requests for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, 2362 Rayburn. 

10:30 a.m. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 124 Dirksen. 

10:30 a.m. – Senate Agriculture Committee to consider the nominations of Dudley Hoskins to serve as USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs and Scott Hutchins to be USDA under secretary for research, education, and economics, 106 Dirksen. 

2:30 p.m. – Senate Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Energy Secretary Chris Wright, 124 Dirksen. 

3 p.m. – U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action webinar: “Soil Carbon Sequestration.”

Thursday, May 22

8:30 a.m. – USDA releases Weekly Export Sales report.

10:00 a.m. – Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 138 Dirksen. 

10:30 a.m. – Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, 124 Dirksen. 

11 a.m. – Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy webinar: “Tariffs, Trade and Agriculture: Making sense of the mayhem.”

Friday, May 23 

This report was updated at 10:45 p.m. Sunday with the Budget Committee action.

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