WASHINGTON — Food industry groups are pushing back on a congressional budget proposal that would strip $300 billion in nutrition spending over the next 10 years, as well as slash $5 billion in funding for the US Department of Agriculture.

The proposed cuts are part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut bill, which cleared committee hurdles last weekend and could go to a floor vote in the House of Representatives before the May 26 Memorial Day holiday, Republican leaders said. Republicans hold a 220-213 majority in the House.

“At the heart of every independent grocer across the nation is a simple but powerful belief that no American should go hungry,” said Stephanie Johnson, group vice president for government relations at the National Grocers Association (NGA). “With this core value in mind, we are urging Congress to limit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding cuts during the reconciliation process. Independent grocers, particularly those in rural and underserved communities, are essential partners in delivering SNAP benefits. Cutting SNAP would harm the most vulnerable Americans and threaten the viability of community grocery stores that are depended upon by their local economies and neighborhoods.”

Every dollar invested in SNAP generates $1.79 in economic activity, from farmers and truckers to grocers, meaning the proposed cuts would wipe out $537 billion for the food and agricultural industries over the next decade, according to NGA estimates.

As of February, more than 42 million Americans were receiving some level of nutrition assistance through SNAP, USDA data show, an increase of 2% over the year prior. The average monthly benefit for a family of four was $726, with a maximum monthly benefit of $925.

The price tag of the SNAP program has risen dramatically in recent years. In terms of inflation-adjusted spending, the program’s annual cost topped $120 billion in 2021 and 2022 before falling to nearly $113 billion in 2023, according to data from the USDA’s Economic Research Service. The program cost less than $100 billion per year from 2000 to 2020, while the number of participating Americans more than doubled during the same timeframe.

The House budget proposal would toughen work requirements for SNAP beneficiaries while shifting some of the cost burden onto states, beginning in 2028, where they could be subject to further cuts during state budget negotiations. Among the new requirements, states would have to pay at least 5% of the total cost of SNAP benefits their residents receive annually, with that percentage increasing up to 25% based on the state’s rate of payment errors. According to USDA figures, states that would be required to pay the full 25% currently include Missouri, Florida, South Carolina and Alaska.

Also in the House budget bill, the USDA faces a funding decrease of $5 billion, nearly 18% of the agency’s total budget. About 13% of the USDA’s budget is devoted to research, with more than half of that figure spent in-house. Research funding spent outside the agency — through the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) — would fall by more than $600 million, a decline of about one-third from current levels. The proposed cuts include NIFA programs focused on renewable energy and climate change, as well as grants to universities for agricultural experiments.

Separate from the budget proposal, the USDA recently approved a request from Nebraska to ban SNAP recipients from using their benefits to purchase soda and energy drinks, beginning next year. Nebraska is the first state to institute such restrictions, but several others are considering similar moves, encouraged by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Opponents of the waivers, including the NGA, argue the restriction will require grocery store cashiers to police customer purchases and further stigmatize use of the program among low-income Americans, even as inflation pushes grocery prices higher.