On the Washington Wednesday edition of Politically Georgia, journalists from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution took a closer look at the “big, beautiful bill” championed by President Donald Trump.
Tia Mitchell and Patricia Murphy discussed the shifting votes of U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, of Athens. Late last week, Clyde broke ranks with most fellow Republicans in the House Budget Committee and blocked the legislation from passing. But, in a rare Sunday committee meeting, Clyde and three others voted “present,” allowing the bill to move forward.
Now U.S. House Speaker Johnson is pushing to get the bill to a floor vote by Thursday, before the chamber goes into recess. But even if lawmakers on the Hill don’t meet that deadline, it likely won’t be the end of the road.
Murphy and Mitchell also talk about a proposed cuts in the bill to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The House Committee on Agriculture proposed $300 billion in cuts to SNAP, also known as “food stamps.”
Ife Finch Floyd of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute said if the proposed cuts go through it would mean that Georgia and other states must pick up the costs.
“That is what goes into the hands of individuals and families that they use in the grocery store,” she said. “So if this policy were to go into effect today, based on current SNAP benefit levels, that would be around $162 million for the state.”
That means the state would have to find that money in its budget or find ways to limit costs in other ways. That could leave Georgians on food stamps facing tougher enrollment requirements that could cause them to lose their eligibility.
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On the next episode: Greg Bluestein interviews Insurance Commissioner John King about his run for Senate.
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