‘This Is A Win-Win’: Glenn Thompson Touts Big Beautiful Bill After Passage In The Senate

During Tuesday's House Rules Committee hearing, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) spoke about the Big, Beautiful, Bill.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Ranking Member Boyle. Chairman Thompson, you're recognized.

00:06Well, thank you, Chairwoman Fox, Ranking Member McGovern, and members of this committee.

00:12I appreciate the opportunity to come before you today concerning the agriculture title

00:15of the One Big Beautiful Bill. I'm proud of our product. We're delivering $120 billion in net

00:22deficit reduction while delivering a generational investment in the farm economy, giving farmers

00:28the tools to expand international markets in ensuring that top-tier agriculture research

00:34can be conducted here instead of China. We save close to $200 billion from the SNAP,

00:42the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by making necessary changes to restore integrity

00:47to the program and preserve its ability to serve the most vulnerable long into the future.

00:54These represent the largest and most significant reforms made to SNAP in the

00:58history of the program. This bill ensures SNAP works the way Congress intended it to,

01:04by reinforcing work, rooting out waste, and instituting long-overdue accountability incentives

01:10to control costs and end administrative overreach. This program is in dire need of reform.

01:17Since just 2019, SNAP costs have skyrocketed from $60 billion to $110 billion annually,

01:23an 83% increase while enrollment has grown from $36 million to $42 million. And in 2024, over $10 billion

01:33in erroneous SNAP payments were sent out. That's disgraceful not only to the taxpayer but also the

01:41SNAP recipient. The agriculture title of the bill includes several improvements to the SNAP program,

01:47including preventing future administrations from unilaterally increasing SNAP benefits

01:52beyond inflation. Focusing on a core principle, that everyone receiving the benefit that can work

02:00should work, and modernizing the work requirement and closing loopholes that allow for widespread

02:05waivers. Closing various loopholes that states exploit, such as gaming the system to artificially

02:12increase SNAP benefits, and creating incentives to ensure states run the program more effectively and

02:19more efficiently. SNAP is the only federally funded state administered entitlement program where the

02:26state has zero skin in the game on the benefit. It's human nature to be more careful when you're

02:31spending your own money than when you're spending others. And that's why we put forward a cost share

02:37structure that requires states with high error rates to pay a portion of the SNAP benefit beginning in

02:43fiscal year 2028. In addition to the most significant reforms to SNAP in history, our committee was able

02:51to deliver a historic investment in the farm safety net and infuse critical investments into rural America.

02:58It's imperative for Congress to rebuild the safety net, the farm safety net. These much-needed changes

03:04mitigate further unbudgeted ad hoc spending and prevent a full-blown financial crisis in farm country

03:10that could devastate the food and ag supply chain, let alone the economy.

03:15Finally, on the investment front, we take care of a few other important items like investment and trade

03:22promotion, animal disease preparedness, specialty crops, dairy, research, and some programs that currently are

03:30with outstanding baseline. In closing, I'm proud to deliver a historic amount of savings to the taxpayer and to do so in a

03:38way that will ultimately have positive outcomes for low-income individuals who get back into the

03:44workforce while also standing by our farmers, our ranchers, and our rural communities. This is a win-win.

03:50I have great respect for the chairwoman, the ranking member, and the members of this committee, and I thank you

03:55once again for the opportunity to come before you today, and I yell back.