Trump proposals for SNAP cuts add up to $230 billion, says think tank
Besides the $180 billion in cuts to the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program proposed in President Trump’s budget package, the administration is proceeding with regulations that would reduce SNAP enrollment and cut spending by $50 billion over 10 years, said the Center for Budget and …
Perdue promotes America’s Harvest Box, the sequel
The Trump administration’s budget-cutting plans for next year may well include a test, or even a full-scale revival, of “America’s Harvest Box,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday.
USDA says it will deliver on Trump request for 5-percent spending cut
Under orders from President Trump to cut spending by 5 percent, the USDA may try to slash the taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance program, eliminate a green-payment program, or take an ax to its research agencies, if recent proposals are any indication.
‘Harvest Box’ proposal makes a policy point, say officials
Two administration officials “who worked on the idea” say the White House proposal of a monthly “Harvest Box” of preselected food for poor Americans “was intended to lay down a marker that the administration is serious” about revamping the food stamp program, said the New York Times.
Senate budget plan spares farm bill
The Republican-controlled Senate Budget Committee plans to approve its fiscal 2018 budget resolution this week. It will open the gate to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The resolution, a blueprint for federal spending, foregoes any cuts in farm-bill programs, unlike the House package, which seeks a $10-billion cut in food stamps over a decade.
Senate chairman says no crop insurance cuts in 2018 farm bill
With farm income in a slump, the government should be a partner, not an adversary, to farmers and ranchers, said the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee in ruling out cuts to the federally subsidized crop insurance program. “Let me emphasize that crop insurance is, for many, the most valuable tool in the risk management toolbox,” said chairman Pat Roberts.
Is a penny on the dollar the same as $10 billion in farm bill programs?
House Budget chairwoman Diane Black is trying to line up fractious Republicans to support budget cuts of a penny on the dollar for mandatory spending programs over the next 10 years. If Budget Committee members agree, that ratio would trim around $10 billion from programs that would be part of the new farm bill, a smaller amount than the $17 billion cut from crop supports, conservation and food stamps in the 2014 farm law.
House panel forgoes big Trump cuts in food stamps, crop insurance
With the big budget battle in another arena, House appropriators proposed steady-as-you go funding for the USDA and FDA in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. President Trump has proposed cutting food stamps by 25 percent and crop insurance by 36 percent.
Rural hospitals could close if healthcare reform cuts Medicaid
Some 700 rural hospitals, which serve a largely older, sicker, and poorer population than most U.S. hospitals, are at risk of closing. Now, with the cuts to Medicaid being considered in Washington as part of the healthcare debate, their prospects could be even darker.
Food stamps a target as House GOP moves toward budget plan
House Republicans are expected to caucus today to discuss a budget package that reportedly increases military spending while cutting domestic programs. The food stamp program is commonly mentioned as a target in government-wide cuts to domestic spending that could total $150 billion over 10 years.
Shortsighted cuts threaten organic industry, says Rep. Pingree
Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree, with firsthand experience as an organic farmer, says the Trump administration’s proposals to cut USDA funding for organic agriculture programs “seem especially foolish and shortsighted” and that the integrity of the USDA “certified organic” seal must be protected.
Democratic senators oppose Trump cuts in rural development
Some 29 Senate Democrats, including all of the party’s members on the Agriculture Committee, signed a letter to President Trump objecting to his proposals to scale back USDA rural economic development programs.
Leaders of Senate Agriculture Committee say no to farm bill cuts
Two days after President Trump proposed large cuts in food stamps and farm supports, the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee spoke out against funding cuts as the panel prepares to write the 2018 farm bill.
EPA staffers prepare to fight for their jobs under Trump
Worried that Trump administration cuts to the EPA will mean slashing thousands of jobs, EPA employees are organizing to defend their work, says NPR. At one union hall in Washington, D.C., dozens of EPA staffers filed in to discuss the issue. NPR spoke with Marie Owens Powell, an EPA enforcement officer and local union leader.
Plan for a smaller workforce, White House tells federal agencies
The White House told federal agencies to prepare to scale down employee numbers over the next four years in line with President Trump's proposal — expressed without much detail in mid-March — to slash discretionary spending, including a 21 percent cut at USDA. Budget director Mick Mulvaney said the reductions, part of a government reorganization, were "how you drain the swamp" — a catch phrase from last fall's presidential campaign.
Former South Carolina governor to head World Food Program
David Beasley, governor of South Carolina from 1995-99, will become executive director of the UN World Food Program on April 4, succeeding fellow American Ertharin Cousin for a five-year term, announced UN Secretary General António Guterres. The WFP describes itself as the world's largest antihunger agency, assisting 80 million people annually.