BLOOMBERG GOVERNMENT: Agriculture Secretary Tangles With Democrats Over Economy, SNAP

Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee Thursday pressed Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on several hot-button issues, including high fuel prices and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), ranking member on the committee, got into a testy back-and-forth with Rollins during the hearing, grilling her on her knowledge of recent farm closures, the SNAP fraud rate, and the surge in diesel and fertilizer prices since the Iran war.

“I’m sick of hearing you blame an administration from a year and a half ago, you own every single bit of this,” Craig told Rollins while addressing rising diesel costs.

Craig also pressed the secretary on the SNAP fraud rate, which Republicans have often cited for changes made to the program.

“I don’t think you understand the difference between error rates and fraud rates. I honestly don’t,” Craig said. “The lowest fraud rate in any program in America is the SNAP program.”

Rollins hit back. “The lowest fraud of any program in America is the SNAP program? You can’t be serious when you say that,” she said.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) also argued with Rollins on the effect of energy prices on the agriculture sector.

“My farmers can’t afford fertilizer,” McGovern said. “It’s at record highs because of your administration. They can’t afford diesel because of this president’s reckless, illegal war. They can’t afford farm equipment. It’s more expensive than ever because of the stupid tariffs. Their markets have vanished because you illegally halted the local food procurement programs.”

He also raised concerns that people had lost their SNAP benefits amid the economic anxiety.

Rollins pushed back on his assertions, arguing that fewer people were on government programs because wages were at the highest rate they’ve been in US history while unemployment was low