House leaders renew push for a new farm bill
Will next week finally be the week that the U.S. House of Representatives passes farm bill 2.0?
That’s the latest game plan, but it’s not a slam dunk at this point.
The House Rules Committee signaled last week it could meet the week of April 27 to set floor consideration for the farm bill, aligning with Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson’s push to bring the legislation to the House floor before the end of April.
Lawmakers will return to their districts for a weeklong recess during the first week of May.
Members of the House had the opportunity to submit amendments until noon April 22. House GOP leaders are trying to whip votes, but given tight margins and some opposition within their own party from people like Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, and others, they will need a few Democrats to join them. That’s a strong possibility.
Currently, there are 217 Republicans, 214 Democrats, one Independent and three vacancies in the House.
Some Democrats supported committee vote
The farm bill advanced through the House Agriculture Committee in March on a 34-to-17 vote, with the support of all Republicans and seven Democrats, after partisan clashes over food assistance cuts, ethanol policy, overturning California’s Proposition 12 animal welfare standard, and a provision to protect pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits, among others.
The seven Democrats who broke ranks to support the bill in committee include Jim Costa of California, Sharice Davids of Kansas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Adam Gray of California, Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan, Josh Riley of New York and Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico.
“Some of my committee members have been handy doing some whipping, and then there’s a few Democrat members of the committee that are doing some whipping on her side of the aisle,” Thompson told Agri-Pulse.
The Pennsylvania Republican did not share how many Democrats have committed to support the legislation on the floor, but said he expected at least the seven Democrats who supported the measure in committee.
“But I think it’s a lot higher than that,” he added.
The committee’s top Democrat, Angie Craig of Minnesota, has previously called the legislation a “shell of a farm bill” that she says will have trouble getting Democratic support on the House floor.
While the Republican-led bill is working to garner support from Democrats, some Republicans also have pushed back. States’ rights advocates have criticized the Proposition 12 provision, and supporters of the Make America Healthy Again movement have denounced the pesticide pre-emption language.
Thompson acknowledged those provisions are the biggest sticking points in securing support, but said the issues are “more of an issue on the Senate side.”
“Sen. (John) Boozman will do what he needs to do to get 60 votes in the Senate,” Thompson added.
Farm groups apply pressure
Meanwhile, a broad coalition of more than 330 farm groups wrote to both House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, to express the need “to take the next steps on this critical legislation.”
“While we recognize that previous legislation included key provisions to bolster the farm safety net and support competitiveness, we remain committed to a full, comprehensive farm bill. The complete suite of programs across all farm bill titles remains essential to ensuring the resilience, productivity and global competitiveness of American agriculture, as well as the strength of rural communities nationwide. The House Agriculture Committee’s Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 achieves these goals,” the groups noted.
Underscoring the importance of passing a farm bill this year are the economic headwinds facing most U.S. producers, the groups noted, including “high input costs, including fuel and fertilizer, have risen sharply, driven by ongoing global conflicts, supply chain disruptions and uncertainty in both domestic and foreign demand.”
Editor’s note: Sara Wyant is publisher of Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., www.Agri-Pulse.com.
