{"id":60382,"date":"2025-06-04T14:40:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T18:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/?p=60382"},"modified":"2025-07-03T12:55:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T16:55:03","slug":"examining-the-house-agriculture-committees-reconciliation-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/examining-the-house-agriculture-committees-reconciliation-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Examining the House Agriculture Committee\u2019s Reconciliation Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives approved its budget reconciliation legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act <\/em>(OBBB<\/a>, HR 1), by a vote<\/a> of 215-214-1. Just a week earlier, on May 15, the House Committee on Agriculture approved<\/a>, by a party line vote of 29-25, components of OBBB that fall within its jurisdiction. OBBB\u2019s passage out of the full House marks the culmination of a monthslong process, and kickstarts Senate consideration of the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The budget reconciliation process, an optional procedure that can alter spending, revenues, and the federal debt limit, was first established in the late 1970s and has been used dozens of times by both political parties since 1980. Reconciliation has primarily been used to cut federal spending, with one notable recent exception being 2022\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act<\/a>. Since the establishment of reconciliation, federal programs within the jurisdiction of the Congressional Agriculture Committees have been consistently targeted for cuts – through budget reconciliation, cuts to farm bill programs were made in 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, and 2006. However, the scope of reductions in these instances pales in comparison to those included in the House-passed OBBB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House Committee on Agriculture resorted<\/a> to cannibalization – slashing over $294 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in order to fund nearly $50 billion worth of increased farm subsidies that support only a fraction of American farmers. In doing so, the Committee has directly undermined its ability and<\/em> responsibility to accomplish a full, bipartisan farm bill that meets the diverse needs of all of American agriculture. While OBBB attempts to sweeten this bad deal by including funding for select programs, on the whole, it effectively abandons fundamental components of the food and farm system, from farm loans to rural development to new market access, and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate is poised to consider its version of OBBB beginning in June. This blog post summarizes the budget reconciliation process in the House of Representatives and the food and farm components of OBBB. It concludes with a discussion of where reconciliation will go from here and how it may impact the future of the farm bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Markup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The House Committee on Agriculture\u2019s markup<\/a> of its components of OBBB began shortly after 7:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 13, and concluded late in the evening on Wednesday, May 14. In total, the markup spanned more than 11 hours across two days. The first several hours of markup consisted of opening statements from Committee members. Most Democrats used the entirety of their individually allotted time for opening remarks. Most Republicans offered only perfunctory opening remarks, choosing not to use their allotted time – a rarity in Washington, DC, that suggests an unwillingness to speak at length or on camera about OBBB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following opening remarks, Committee members proceeded to debate a series of amendments that spanned the entire bill. OBBB\u2019s food agriculture portion consists of two subtitles – Subtitle A and Subtitle B. Subtitle A focuses exclusively on Nutrition, while Subtitle B focuses on all other programs. Historically speaking, committee markups have been a relatively meaningful opportunity to improve the underlying bill by offering amendments. However, in recent years, legislation has arrived at markup more or less fully negotiated, leaving little room for meaningful amendment opportunities. Of the 79 amendments submitted for the House Committee on Agriculture\u2019s OBBB markup – 78 from Democrats and 1 from a Republican – only 25 received a standalone vote. All 25 amendments failed by roll call vote along party lines, with 29 Republicans opposed and 25 Democrats in favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find all filed amendments here<\/a>. Below is a list of amendment votes taken during markup pertaining to Subtitle B:<\/p>\n\n\n\n