Opening Statements

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) delivered the following opening statement at today's Rules Committee hearing on H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to come before you today concerning the agriculture title of the one big, beautiful bill.

The agriculture committee was tasked with $230 billion in net deficit reduction.

I’m proud of our product, and proud to report that we exceeded our instruction.

These savings are achieved through necessary changes to restore integrity to the SNAP program and preserve the program’s ability to serve the most vulnerable long into the future.

These reforms ensure SNAP works the way Congress intended it to, by reinforcing work, rooting out waste, and instituting long-overdue accountability incentives to control costs and end executive and state overreach.

This program is in dire need of reform. Since just 2019, SNAP costs have skyrocketed from $60 billion to $110 billion annually – an 83% percent increase, while enrollment has grown from 36 million to 42 million.

And in 2023, over $13 billion in erroneous SNAP payments were sent out. That is disgraceful not only to the taxpayer, but also the SNAP recipient.

The Rules Committee print includes several improvements to the SNAP program including:

Preventing future Administrations from unilaterally increasing SNAP benefits beyond inflation;

Focusing on a core principle- that everyone receiving the benefit that CAN work SHOULD work- and modernizing the work requirement and closing loopholes that allow for widespread waivers;

Closing various loopholes that states exploit such as gaming the system to artificially increase SNAP benefits;

And creating incentives to ensure states run the program more effectively and efficiently. 

SNAP is the ONLY federally funded, state administered entitlement program where the state has ZERO skin in the game on the benefit.

It is human nature to be more careful with your own money than you are others, and that is why we put forward a cost share structure that requires ALL states to pay a minimal 5 percent cost-share of SNAP the benefit beginning in Fiscal Year 2028.However, for states with high payment error rates – that is those over 6 percent, the cost share scales up.

In exceeding our instruction, we also were able to make several vital and time-sensitive investments in rural America.

It’s imperative for congress to rebuild the farm safety net. These investments mitigate further unbudgeted ad hoc spending and prevent a full-blown financial crisis in farm country that could devastate the food and ag supply chain.

Finally on the investment front we take care of a few other important items like investments in trade promotion, animal disease preparedness, specialty crops, dairy, research, and some programs without standing baseline.

In closing, I am proud to deliver a historic amount of savings to the taxpayer and to do so in a way that will ultimately have positive outcomes for low-income individuals who get back into the work force, while also standing by our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. This is a win-win.

I have great respect for the chairwoman, the ranking member, and the members of this committee and thank you once again for the opportunity to come before you today.