President Donald Trump (R) and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) are hard at work attempting to hammer out passage of a budget reconciliation bill by Memorial Day weekend— but they’re running into roadblocks within their own party. The Republican budget package is set to cut healthcare spending by $715 billion, with most of those cuts coming from Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office estimates these cuts will lead to 8.6 million fewer people with healthcare coverage. The House Budget Committee attempted to pass its compiled bill out of committee Monday, May 19, but GOP hardliners defected and voted against the bill, demanding higher cuts to Medicaid than currently included.  

The budget bill would have a considerable impact on public school nutrition services. The bill includes significant cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, aiming to slash more than $290 billion from the SNAP program through a number of measures, including: 

• Requiring states to pay for part of SNAP benefits based on their payment error rates as well as pay for administrative costs, change work requirements, waivers, and other criteria for SNAP recipients; 
• Limiting future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan (the basis for calculating SNAP); 
• Restricting participants from including internet costs in their computation of shelter expenses, closing an internet utility loophole for SNAP participants; and  
• Eliminating the National Education and Obesity Prevention Program. 

Cuts to SNAP have a direct impact on free school meal programs. These cuts would be exacerbated by the Trump Administration’s cancellation of the $660 million Local Food for Schools program, which helped schools purchase locally grown produce for student nutrition programs. Currently, the Food Research & Action Center and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate that more than 12 million children could lose access to federally subsidized free school meals if these measures are adopted. It’s estimated that by tightening requirements for community eligibility, the budget proposal would save $3 billion over the next 10 years, and around $9 million would be saved by requiring all schools to verify the familial income of each student who applies for free and reduced price meals.  

The Trump Administration’s budget proposal states it will preserve funding for Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These programs are the signature of the Department of Education and some of the most important public school funding streams. They are also protected by statute. It is worth noting that during President Trump’s first term, a proposal came forward to shift Title I money to a block grant—a measure that was blocked by Congress. It appears a similar shift is again being attempted, as the administration is calling for 18 unnamed federal K-12 programs to be streamlined into a new “K-12 Simplified Funding Program,” which would incur a $4.5 billion overall cut. The seven IDEA programs would also be consolidated into a single special education funding program. The regrouping of specific separate programs could be the Trump Administration’s way of laying the groundwork for turning critical programs into block grants, which allow states more flexibility on how the money would be spent. Without this federal oversight, states would have no accountability regarding their use of these federal funds or whether previously inherent rights, protections, and services for students are being safeguarded. 

If you would like to share feedback with your U.S. congressman on the budget bill, you may use this campaign in ATPE’s Advocacy Central. 

David Pore, the managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office of Hance Scarborough LLP, represents ATPE before federal agencies and the U.S. Congress.