Latest news with #SNAP
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Lawmaker queries retailers in probe of link between tariffs and grocery prices
Sen. Maggie Hassan has asked Albertsons, Kroger, Walmart, Costco and Dollar General for information about how increased tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on imported steel and aluminum could affect stores, suppliers and costs in the grocery supply chain. In June 18 letters to the chief executives of the retailers, the New Hampshire senator requested details including how they expect tariffs on the metals - which doubled to 50% on June 4 - to impact the cost of private label products, particularly canned foods and frozen meals. Hassan, the ranking member of Congress' Joint Economic Committee, indicated that Democrats on the Republican-controlled panel are especially interested in how increases in metal prices could impact canned good costs. She asked the retailers for details about their costs, revenue and profit margins for their best-selling canned food and aluminum foil products over the past five quarters. In addition, Hassan requested information about how customers who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits shop for canned goods, including a breakdown of their purchases in terms of brand name and private label products. Hassan also said she wants an estimate of the number of jobs the retailers support in industries such as construction, food packaging and food processing. "High grocery prices are a top economic concern for Americans, and experts state that tariffs could significantly increase the cost of canned foods," Hassan wrote. "Experts have also noted potential impacts from tariffs on the costs of shelving, equipment, transportation, and other inputs that grocery stores and their suppliers need to operate, which, in turn, could also lead to higher food prices for customers." In the letters, Hassan cited data from the Consumer Brands Association indicating that the 50% levy on imported steel could push prices for canned foods up by between 9% and 15%. She also pointed to statistics showing that the U.S. imports almost 70% of the steel used for canned fruits and vegetables. Hassan gave the retailers until July 9 to supply the information she requested. Grocery prices rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported June 11. By comparison, food-at-home inflation came in at 2% in April and 2.4% in March. Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmaker queries retailers in probe of link between tariffs and grocery prices
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Sen. Maggie Hassan has asked Albertsons, Kroger, Walmart, Costco and Dollar General for information about how increased tariffs the Trump administration has imposed on imported steel and aluminum could affect stores, suppliers and costs in the grocery supply chain. In June 18 letters to the chief executives of the retailers, the New Hampshire senator requested details including how they expect tariffs on the metals — which doubled to 50% on June 4 — to impact the cost of private label products, particularly canned foods and frozen meals. Hassan, the ranking member of Congress' Joint Economic Committee, indicated that Democrats on the Republican-controlled panel are especially interested in how increases in metal prices could impact canned good costs. She asked the retailers for details about their costs, revenue and profit margins for their best-selling canned food and aluminum foil products over the past five quarters. In addition, Hassan requested information about how customers who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits shop for canned goods, including a breakdown of their purchases in terms of brand name and private label products. Hassan also said she wants an estimate of the number of jobs the retailers support in industries such as construction, food packaging and food processing. 'High grocery prices are a top economic concern for Americans, and experts state that tariffs could significantly increase the cost of canned foods,' Hassan wrote. 'Experts have also noted potential impacts from tariffs on the costs of shelving, equipment, transportation, and other inputs that grocery stores and their suppliers need to operate, which, in turn, could also lead to higher food prices for customers.' In the letters, Hassan cited data from the Consumer Brands Association indicating that the 50% levy on imported steel could push prices for canned foods up by between 9% and 15%. She also pointed to statistics showing that the U.S. imports almost 70% of the steel used for canned fruits and vegetables. Hassan gave the retailers until July 9 to supply the information she requested. Grocery prices rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported June 11. By comparison, food-at-home inflation came in at 2% in April and 2.4% in March. Recommended Reading Trump tariffs could hike canned food prices up to 15%, trade group says Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill': Senate aims for passage by this date; hopes to finalise it 'even sooner'
Senator Ron Johnson said there's a strong chance that Donald Trump 's "Big Beautiful Bill" could be passed by the Senate and land on the US president's desk by July, possibly before the August recess. "I think we can do it before the August recess, yes, and maybe even sooner than that," Johnson told Fox News. President Trump has earlier urged Congress to send the bill to his desk by July 4, calling it "arguably the most significant piece of legislation that will ever be signed in the history of our country." — bennyjohnson (@bennyjohnson) The wide-ranging legislative package — formally known as the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" bundles together major tax reforms, spending cuts, and border security proposals that aim to reshape key areas of American policy. At its core, the over 1,000-page bill seeks to make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent while adding new tax breaks, such as deductions for tips, overtime, and car loan interest. It also proposes raising the standard deduction to $32,000 for joint filers, boosting the child tax credit to $2,500, and offering a $4,000 deduction for certain seniors. But the bill has sparked backlash over proposed cuts to federal programs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thị trường có dấu hiệu suy thoái không? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo It includes major reductions in spending on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill could cut SNAP spending by $295 billion over the next decade and push around 3.2 million people off the program each month by tightening work requirements and shifting more costs to states. While Republicans hold a slight majority in the Senate (53-47), opposition remains — not just from Democrats but also from some GOP senators worried about impacts on vulnerable populations and the potential to worsen the federal deficit.
CBS News
4 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
Murkowski says she has been "pretty clear" about her concerns with Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she has been "pretty clear" about her concerns over potential cuts President Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill" would make to Medicaid and food benefits for her constituents in Alaska. In an interview for "CBS Sunday Morning," Murkowski told CBS News senior correspondent Norah O'Donnell that she hasn't given any absolute deal-breakers in the Senate legislation — but she's voiced her reservations about the Medicaid proposals. "I have not given anybody in the administration an absolute, this is my red line, right?" Because I think it's important that every step of the way, I communicate where my concerns are," Murkowski told O'Donnell in the interview airing this weekend. The reconciliation bill — or "one big, beautiful bill," as Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress have dubbed it — has passed the House, but remains up for debate in the Senate, where some Republicans are pushing for deeper cuts to Medicaid than the House-passed version allows. Medicaid is the entitlement program that offers government-backed health care for both low-income Americans and those with disabilities, with the federal government and states splitting the costs. While the House version adds a new work requirement to Medicaid for childless adults, the Senate wants work requirements to expand to parents of older children. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides food benefits to the poorest Americans, and some Senate Republicans are hoping to place more requirements on states. "So I've been pretty clear that when it comes to Medicaid, those cuts that would harm Alaskan beneficiaries, that's not something that I can take home, right? We have some of the highest health care costs in the country. We have 40% of Alaska's kids that are on Medicaid. I want to try to do what we can to address certain aspects of our entitlement spending. We've got to do that. But doing it with the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of that is not the answer," she said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from North Dakota, wants the reconciliation bill to pass by the July 4 holiday, but that deadline is quickly approaching. Watch more of the interview with Sen. Lisa Murkowski on "CBS Sunday Morning" on Sunday, June 22.
Miami Herald
6 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
The Friday Checkout: Senate Republicans propose their own SNAP changes
Earlier this week, Senate Republicans released that chamber's proposed version of President Donald Trump's tax agenda - what many say includes a scaled-back plan to cut SNAP funding compared with the House's legislation. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chair John Boozman told The Hill that the Senate softened the House-passed language cutting SNAP by giving states the chance to receive more federal funding if they reduce errors in paying out food assistance. While the House bill would cut federal SNAP funding by 5% "straight off the top," the Senate's version would let states avoid federal funding cuts by getting their error rate "down to zero," Boozman told the publication. Senate Republicans' adjustments to the tax bill could set up a collision course in the House, NPR reported. As negotiations continue, how SNAP could be impacted remains a top concern for the grocery industry. SNAP shoppers spend an average of $801 on groceries monthly, roughly 19% more compared to non-SNAP shoppers, according to recent Numerator data. While "encouraged" by the Senate's revised approach to SNAP reform, the National Grocers Association said in a statement on Wednesday that it wants the Senate to "strengthen the bill further" and preserve funding for SNAP-Ed, an education and obesity prevention program. The trade association also said it wants the chamber to "reduce [the bill's] impact on grocers and the families they serve," but did not specify how. The NGA said the Senate bill took a "more measured and practical approach" compared to the House bill by proposing to ensure that SNAP benefits remain fully federally funded when states maintain low payment error rates. The NGA said that this approach would curtail $80 billion in SNAP changes. In case you missed it Food Lion's new private label pizza The Ahold Delhaize-owned banner announced it's adding nine selections to its lineup of private label frozen pizzas. The pizzas range in price from $3.49 to $5.49 and include a variety of flavors and crust types, including classic crust cheese pizza, rising crust three-meat pizza and thin crust BBQ. Low-price pizzas are a focus for Food Lion right now, as the chain also offers a 99-cent thin-crust personal pizza. Albertsons Media Collective launches in-store digital display network Albertsons already has one of the leading digital advertising networks in grocery. Now, it's looking to do the same for in-store retail media. On Monday, Albertsons Media Collective announced the launch of its in-store display network in partnership with digital signage company Stratacache. The network, which will launch in two regions this summer, will feature large displays in key areas of the store, like the produce department and store entrances. The screens will run ads and promotional offers for companies. The network also offers connected TV and social video integrations for suppliers, as well as measurement tools that show in-store performance over time. Instacart links with Pinterest on shoppable ads Users of the popular inspiration platform Pinterest will soon be able to click on shoppable ads that tie to Instacart's marketplace. A pinned cocktail recipe, for example, could connect shoppers with ingredients they need through the digital grocery provider. In the partnership's first phase, select brands advertising on Pinterest can also advertise to Instacart's first-party audience segments. A second phase will introduce closed-loop measurement that will connect the ads with product sales across Instacart's marketplace. Impulse find Sam's Club shares pizza delivery goof When Sam's Club was testing its newly launched pizza delivery, the club retailer accidentally delivered a rotisserie chicken, the chain's CFO recently shared. Luckily, the goof happened with a worker who was helping to test the pizza delivery, Todd Sears, senior vice president and CFO of Sam's Club, said at the Evercore Consumer & Retail Conference earlier this month. "He took a picture of it and sent it in like, 'This is a pretty good-looking pizza.' Thank goodness, it was an associate," Sears said at the event, based on a Seeking Alpha transcript, adding that the company "quickly got that corrected." Announced last month, the newly launched pizza delivery "has been incredible and has exceeded our expectations" and is now available at all of the club's locations, Sears said. The club's members can order four-meat, pepperoni or cheese 16-inch pizzas for delivery. Sam's Club also does rotisserie chicken delivery, Sears said - but not as an accidental substitute. Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
