Articles Tagged with ''House Agriculture Committee''

House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson says he’s ready to start work on a stand-alone farm bill as soon as he’s done with the House budget reconciliation measure that’s being used to boost spending on key farm programs. But can he muster bipartisan support for what would be left behind by the reconciliation process? 

Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee repeatedly criticized a Republican proposal to make states pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the first time in the program’s history.

House Republican budget reconciliation proposals include historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid that could have a substantial impact on rural communities and economies, advocates warn. 

House Republicans will seek to push through critical portions of their massive budget package this week, including elements of the farm bill, cuts to nutrition assistance and expanded tax benefits. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins heads to the United Kingdom to talk trade, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces questioning on Capitol Hill.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee appear confident they can hold a markup early next week on their portion of the budget reconciliation bill, despite remaining policy decisions. 

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins faces back-to-back hearings this week, while House Republican leaders continued to struggle to agree on tax policy and deep cuts to SNAP and Medicaid that could be key to their budget reconciliation efforts.

As the House Agriculture Committee’s plan to find billions in savings begins to take shape, creating a state cost-share for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is being considered only as a last resort. 

As Republicans struggle to meet budget goals, Democrats highlight the prospect of tighter work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that GOP lawmakers propose.

President Donald Trump this week is set to unveil his reciprocal tariffs on U.S trading partners, while in Congress Republicans try to show some progress on his key legislative priorities.

USDA named Alec Varsamis deputy communications director. A veteran of the first Trump administration, he was press secretary and acting communications director for then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue. Since then, Versamis has worked at agencies Ketchum and Veno Group in account supervisor roles focused on agriculture, food and ingredients as well as crisis and issue management communications. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco.