¶ Overview
In 2025, Randy Feenstra touted that he was a “key author” of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and voted for the largest cut to SNAP in history. Randy Feenstra supported work requirements for SNAP recipients under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” In Iowa, more than 260,000 people relied on SNAP to afford groceries.
¶ Randy Feenstra Voted To Strip SNAP Benefits From Iowans And Make Food More Expensive
¶ Randy Feenstra Voted For The House Republican Reconciliation Bill That Cut Snap Benefits For Millions
¶ July 2025: Randy Feenstra Voted For The Final Version Of The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Which Contained The Largest SNAP Cut In History
July 2025: Randy Feenstra Voted For The Senate FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill, The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Which Extended $4 Trillion In Expiring Tax Cuts, Added New Tax Breaks, Appropriated $448 Billion In Defense, Border, And Immigration Enforcement Funding, Increased The SALT Deduction To $40,000, And Cut Medicaid And Other Social Programs To Offset The Costs. In July 2025, Randy Feenstra voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, the “motion to concur in the Senate amendment to the bill that would permanently extend nearly $4 trillion in expiring individual and business tax cuts, create several new tax breaks and fund border and immigration enforcement and air traffic control upgrades. It would cut Medicaid and other safety net programs to partly offset the cost. Among other provisions, it would raise the statutory debt ceiling by $5 trillion and appropriate more than $448 billion in mandatory funding for Trump administration priorities and other needs, including $153 billion for defense, $89 billion for immigration enforcement, and $89.5 billion for border control and security. It also would increase the state and local tax deduction cap to $40,000 annually for five years for households making up to $500,000 a year until 2030, when it would permanently revert to $10,000.” The House passed the bill by a vote of 218 to 214. The bill was ultimately signed into law. [House Vote 190, 7/3/25; Congressional Quarterly, 7/3/25; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
- HEADLINE: "Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Cuts Food Stamps For Millions — The Average Family May Lose $146 Per Month, Report Finds" [CNBC, 7/10/25]
- The GOP Reconciliation Bill Would Cut SNAP Funding By $186 Billion, Which CBPP Said Constituted The “Largest Cut To SNAP In History.” According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “The Senate Republican leadership’s reconciliation bill would dramatically raise costs and reduce food assistance for millions of people by cutting federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $186 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), about 20 percent — the largest cut to SNAP in history. These cuts would increase poverty, food insecurity, and hunger, including among children. The so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is anything but beautiful; it would cause widespread harm by making massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, which would raise costs on families and make it much harder for them to afford the high cost of health care and groceries.” [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 6/30/25]
- 22.3 Million Families Would Lose Some Or All Of Their SNAP Benefits, With 5.3 Million Families Losing More Than $25 In Benefits Per Month, And Of Those Families, The Average Loss In Benefits Would Be $146. According to the Urban Institute, “Our preliminary estimates of the SNAP policies in the Senate bill show the following: 22.3 million US families would be affected, losing some or all of their SNAP benefits. Of the total affected families, 5.3 million would lose at least $25 in SNAP benefits per month. Among these families, 3.3 million are families with children, 3.5 million are working families, and 1.7 million are families with a full-time full-year worker. Families losing at least $25 per month would lose $146 per month on average ($1,752 for a full-year recipient). At the state level, average monthly benefit losses for families losing at least $25 per month would range from $72 in Kansas ($864 annually) to $231 in the District of Columbia ($2,772 annually).” [Urban Institute, 7/2/25]
- States That Could Not Afford To Pay The New Mandated SNAP Cost Shares May Cut The Program Entirely. According to CNBC, “Additionally, the legislation requires states to pay for a portion of benefit costs, ranging from 5% to 15%, if their payment error rate is at or over 6%. The error rates measure the accuracy of states’ eligibility and benefit payments. In fiscal year 2024, states had a 10.9% average payment error rate, with many states over 6%, according to the Department of Agriculture. States that can’t pay those shares may have to cut SNAP benefits or opt out of the program entirely, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.” [CNBC, 7/10/25]
¶ May 2025: Randy Feenstra Voted For The House Version Of The Republican Reconciliation Bill, Which Included A $300 Billion Cut To SNAP
2025: Randy Feenstra Voted For The FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill That Included $3.8 Trillion In Tax Cuts Offset By $1.5 Trillion In Spending Reductions To Programs Like Medicaid And The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In May 2025, Randy Feenstra voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, “the bill that would provide for approximately $3.8 trillion in net tax cuts and $321 billion in military, border enforcement and judiciary spending, offset by $1.5 trillion in spending reductions, as instructed in the fiscal 2025 budget resolution (H Con Res 14). It would raise the statutory debt limit by $4 trillion and provide for increased spending on defense and border security, spending cuts on social safety net programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It also includes a mix of tax breaks for businesses and individuals; tax increases on universities and foundations; and a phase-down of clean energy tax credits. […] It would reduce federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by requiring states to shoulder more of the cost, expand work requirements for SNAP, extend programs authorized under the 2018 farm bill, and prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture from increasing the cost of the Thrifty Food Program. As amended, it would cap state and local tax deductions at $40,000 for households with incomes below $500,000.” The House passed the bill by a vote of 215 to 214. [House Vote 145, 5/22/25; Congressional Quarterly, 5/22/25; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
- The House Republican Reconciliation Bill Included Nearly $300 Billion In Cuts To The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "The House-passed Republican reconciliation plan would cut nearly $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through 2034, based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates — by far the largest cut to SNAP in history.[1] As a result of these cuts and other policies in the legislation — which are being used to pay partly for trillions in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy — millions of people would lose some or all of the food assistance they need to afford groceries, when many low-income households are struggling to afford the high cost of food and other basic needs." [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 5/28/25]
¶ February 2025: Randy Feenstra Voted For House Republicans’ Budget Framework, Which Set Up Future Cuts To SNAP
2025: Randy Feenstra Voted For The FY 2025 Budget Framework That Included $2 Trillion In Cuts, Raised The Statutory Debt Limit By $4 Trillion, And Required House Committees To Recommend Legislation That Would Implement Trump’s Agenda. In February 2025, Randy Feenstra voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, “the concurrent resolution that would recommend a budget for fiscal 2025 and budget levels through fiscal 2034. The resolution would assume minimum savings of $1.5 trillion over 10 years and 2.6 percent economic growth over the same period. It also would require the statutory debt limit to be raised by $4 trillion. It also would authorize the House Ways and Means Committee to increase deficits by $4.5 trillion over 10 years to extend the 2017 tax cuts and implement new tax cuts proposed by the White House. It also would provide instructions for the budget reconciliation process through which separate legislation could be considered and passed in the Senate via a simple majority vote. The measure would deliver instructions to 11 House committees to report legislation that would implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, such as expanding tax cuts and bolstering border security and immigration enforcement. The committees would be required to report their legislative recommendations to the House Budget Committee by March 27, 2025. It also would set a $2 trillion target for the spending cuts to be submitted to the House Budget Committee. The resolution also would stipulate that if the committees don't reach that target, the Ways and Means’ reconciliation instructions to increase the deficit by a maximum of $4.5 trillion would be decreased by the amount the other committees come in below the target. Similarly, it would stipulate that Ways and Means could increase the deficit above the $4.5 trillion level by the amount of savings the committees achieve above the $2 trillion target.” The vote was on passage. The House passed the resolution by a vote of 217 to 215. [House Vote 50, 2/25/25; Congressional Quarterly, 2/25/25; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 14]
- HEADLINE: "House Republican Budget Takes Away Health Care, Food Aid To Pay For Expanded Tax Cuts For Wealthy" [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/21/25]
- CBPP Said The Republican Budget Resolution Outlined $230 Billion In Cuts, Primary From SNAP Benefits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "The House Republicans’ budget plan would give major tax cuts to high-income, wealthy households. Extending the expiring individual income and estate tax provisions for households with incomes in the top 5 percent of the income distribution (households with incomes over $321,000) costs around $1.8 trillion through 2034, accounting for 49 percent of the total $3.6 trillion cost of extension through 2034. That $1.8 trillion for wealthy and high-income households is close to the amount of the spending cuts House Republicans have outlined — including at least $880 billion primarily from Medicaid, $230 billion primarily from SNAP benefits, and $330 billion primarily from making student loans more expensive. Of the tax cuts for wealthy households, nearly $200 billion is for an estate tax giveaway that showers some $6 million per estate on the 1 in 1,000 wealthiest estates. In contrast, the average SNAP benefit is $6.20 per person per day, which helps struggling families put food on the table." [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/21/25]
¶ Feenstra Promoted Writing Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Which Cut $300 Billion From SNAP
PRESS RELEASE: “Rep. Feenstra, Miller-Meeks, Hinson, And Nunn Turn Backs On Iowa Residents, Cast Votes To Advance Trump Budget Bill To Endanger Our Environment, Jeopardize Our Health, And Kill Jobs” [Press Release – Sierra Club, 5/22/25]
2025: Feenstra Touted His Role As A “Key Author” In Writing Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Which Contained Large SNAP Spending Cuts. According to the Des Moines Register, “Since launching his exploratory committee, Feenstra has repeatedly emphasized his closeness to Trump. At a May 30 event in Sioux Center, Feenstra said he was a ‘key author’ of the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that Trump later signed into law. Feenstra sits on the House Agriculture Committee, which oversaw changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, including about $300 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years. He also serves on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. ‘I was very close to the administration on helping write this bill, not only the tax portion of it, but also the (agricultural) portion of it,’ he said at his annual Feenstra Family Picnic.” [Des Moines Register, 10/28/25]
- 2025: Feenstra Sat On The House Agriculture Committee, Which Oversaw Large SNAP Spending Cuts Of $300 Billion Over The Next 10 Years, And Sat On The Ways And Means Committee. According to the Des Moines Register, “Feenstra sits on the House Agriculture Committee, which oversaw changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, including about $300 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years. He also serves on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. ‘I was very close to the administration on helping write this bill, not only the tax portion of it, but also the (agricultural) portion of it,’ he said at his annual Feenstra Family Picnic.” [Des Moines Register, 10/28/25]
¶ Feenstra Falsely Claimed “One Big Beautiful Bill” “Protected” SNAP
2025: Feenstra Falsely Claimed The “One Big Beautiful Bill” “Protected” SNAP And Endorsed Work Requirements For SNAP And Medicaid Recipients. According to Feenstra’s Twitter, “Democrats are lying about the ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill.’ We are protecting Medicaid and SNAP for the most vulnerable in our communities. We are asking able-bodied adults without young children to work or volunteer a modest 20 hours per week to receive taxpayer-funded benefits.”
[Twitter, @RepFeenstra, 7/7/25]
¶ More Than 260,000 People In Iowa Relied On SNAP
As Of November 2025, More Than 260,000 Iowans Replied On SNAP. According to the Des Moines Register, “‘The charitable food system cannot fill this gap,’ she said. ‘For every meal the charitable food system provides, SNAP provides nine.’ The federal shutdown began on Oct. 1, hitting day 34 on Monday — one day short of the record-setting government closure in 2019. Because of the shutdown, full November SNAP benefits will not be issued to the more than 260,000 Iowans who rely on the program each month to help afford healthy food.” [Des Moines Register, 11/4/25]
2023: Across Iowa, 116,707 Households Relied On SNAP.
[U.S. Department of Agriculture, SNAP Community Characteristics, Accessed 11/24/25]