The House Agriculture Committee is proceeding with a second day of markup on its portion of the budget reconciliation bill, but at 1:30 p.m. recessed for a series of votes. House Agriculture Committee Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., urged members to come back as soon as they have voted, but a committee aide said there will be another recess at 5 p.m. for votes and dinner. 

The business meeting began at 10 a.m. and is expected to continue all day and possibly into the night. The Democrats, who object vigorously to the GOP proposal to cut $290 billion over 10 years from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, have proposed 69 amendments, a committee aide said. The Democrats have considered six amendments and have asked for recorded votes on each one. 

Thompson has delayed the roll call votes until later in the proceedings, but had to hold a roll call vote on a motion to adjourn by Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., ranking member of the committee. That Democrats failed to prevail on that motion. The vote was 23 for to 29 against along party lines. 

Today’s markup follows a four-hour session of opening statements on Tuesday evening.

During that session, Thompson said the $290 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is necessary “to make sure this essential program works for the most vulnerable and functions as Congress intended,” but he emphasized that the cut “also allows for vital investment in our farm bill programs, addressing immediate needs for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.”

“By putting the farm back in the farm bill, Congress will be better able to deliver a full, long-term reauthorization of a highly effective farm bill,” Thompson said.

The House Budget Committee instructed the House Agriculture Committee to cut $230 billion from SNAP over 10 years, but committee Republicans have added $60 billion to aid farmers and ranchers.

Thompson noted that the bill will require states to pay part of the cost of SNAP benefits. “Unlike every other state-administered entitlement program, the SNAP benefit is 100% funded by the federal government, resulting in minimal incentive for states to control costs, enhance efficiencies and improve outcomes for recipients,” he said.

Craig took the opposite approach. She said the bill “will take food away from millions of American seniors, children, veterans and people with disabilities, and cost farmers billions in lost farm income due to reduced food demand.”

“The cut you are proposing to SNAP tonight would be the largest rollback of an anti-hunger program in our nation’s history,” Craig said.

“Now tonight, I know I’m going to hear some of you rant and rave about ‘waste, fraud and abuse and error rates.’ But this bill fails to address these issues.

“Commonsense solutions like upgrading EBT cards to chip technology — a security feature that’s been used for credit cards for a decade — are nowhere to be found. And the changes you are proposing in the error rate calculation are designed to increase error rates in your states — which will force states to cut benefits.”

Craig said, “Our farmers need a better safety net. We are right here, ready to work on a bipartisan farm bill. But that isn’t what’s happening here tonight. Tonight, you’re taking food away from single moms with 7-year-olds at home — as if being a single parent raising a young child wasn’t hard enough already. And farmers, too, will suffer from your direct attacks on SNAP.”