Earlier this month, Senate Republicans released their version of a proposed update to the Farm Bill. On June 12, John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking member of the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, detailed how the recently released Republican framework puts “more farm in the Farm Bill” and how it can be used as the basis for a bipartisan path forward in a speech on the Senate floor. Democrats released their version on May 1.
Despite the forward momentum, according to multiple news sources, partisan differences between House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill and internal Senate differences about its versions may postpone passage of new version of the legislation. The Farm Bill will expire on Sept. 30. Congress, however, is considering delaying action on the $1.5 trillion proposal until after elections this fall.
There typically has been bipartisan support for the bill because it combines funds for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for low-income families with updates to farm programs that include commodity price guarantees and crop insurance. This year, however, the Republican-controlled House’s version of the bill would spend less on future low-income food assistance and more on large-scale commodity farmers, while the Democratic-controlled Senate is crafting an opposite proposal. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, SNAP makes up roughly 80% of total Farm Bill program spending.
Senators from both parties said a temporary extension of the current law is looking increasingly likely.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told the Washington Post that continuing the 2018 version of the law temporarily might prove the easiest option to steer through Congress, saying, “I’m not going to support a bad bill.” Boozman agreed: “If we don’t make meaningful improvements … we’re better off not having a new farm bill.”
A brief extension being considered would push a vote on a longer-term measure into the “lame duck” session after the election and before the new Congress takes office in January. Lawmakers also have discussed another year-long farm bill extension; Congress passed similar legislation in November.
In an interview with an Iowa radio station, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) called the situation “very frustrating” but agreed that a delay may be the best path forward. “Are we going to get a Farm Bill anytime soon? Honestly? No.” Ernst is hoping for a Republican majority in the Senate after the upcoming election and said it may be better to hold out for a better deal. Echoing Boozman, she said, “We want more farm in the Farm Bill.”
“They’re telling us that they need a better farm safety net, that inflation and interest rates have cut into their earning potential. We share our members’ frustrations that Congress has not passed a new, modernized farm bill,” said Joe Gilson, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation told KMALand.com. “But the needs of farmers and ranchers and their livelihoods are at stake, so we want to see something get done.”
