Senate Ag Committee will try again to move a farm bill

The Senate Agriculture Committee lacked enough votes to advance a recent farm bill due in part to partisan division over issues related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill was voted down 10 to 11. 

“It’s not going to go away,” Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-AR, said after the legislation was voted down along party lines. The committee went into a recess after the vote, as opposed to adjournment, underscoring the chairman’s determination to hold another vote.

Democrats were able to block approval on due to the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, who has been out because of a health problem. Boozman said the committee looks forward to welcoming McConnell back “soon.” 

The farm bill tally reflects McConnell not being present as well as the last-minute absence of Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL, who was there earlier, but not for the final vote.

Even if Tuberville had been there for the final 10-11 vote to make it a tie, the bill would have failed to advance. Proxy votes are allowed for amendments, but they aren’t allowed to carry final votes.

After the vote, Boozman put the markup into a recess, meaning the bill is still pending in committee.

Waiting for September

The U.S. Senate will be in session for only 14 days until the mid-term elections, but Boozman plans to resume his committee’s markup of Farm Bill 2.0 within a day or so of lawmakers returning to Capitol Hill next month on Sept. 14.

“It doesn’t need to be that it’s a party-line vote,” Boozman recently told reporters.  “We need a good, bipartisan vote.”

The current logjam stems from disagreement between Republicans and Democrats on how long a delay certain states should get before being required to pay a portion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit costs that are based on payment error rates.

Under recent federal policy changes, states with error rates at or above 6% face new cost-sharing requirements to fund a percentage of benefit costs starting in October 2027.

The national PER last fiscal year stood at 10.6%, representing roughly $10.1 billion in improper payments, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Improper payments can be those that were paid incorrectly, either too high or too low.

Boozman is firm in saying his compromise offer which allows no more than a one-year delay is acceptable to GOP leaders, including President Donald Trump.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, the panel’s top Democrat, says at least a two-year delay is needed to give states time to get their rates down and grapple with budget changes. Democrats have cited concern that some states may end up curtailing SNAP benefits due to the new costs. Klobuchar, who is running for governor of Minnesota, says it’s also a matter of fairness, since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act gives extra time to the states with the highest error rates, but not others.

Klobuchar says she’s committed to keep working with Boozman to advance the farm bill and noted it includes “good things” for United States farmers and ranchers.

“But amid tariff-related rising grocery prices in states across the country where SNAP has been critical, this is only a one-year fix,” she said. “Our members are simply asking for the two-year delay so all states will be on the same footing in working to reduce their error rates.”

Boozman says he’s fought hard for a one-year delay and that it’s the best offer Democrats will get.

“This debate needs to be about passing a farm bill that supports producers in rural communities, not about preserving the gross mismanagement of SNAP benefits by states. My proposal struck a middle ground to address the concerns brought by my colleagues,” he said Aug. 7. The ag chairman, who earlier this year indicated that no cost-share delay was acceptable, said Democrats “refuse really to accept ‘yes’ for an answer.”

Boozman also stressed that time is running out to get a farm bill passed this year. The proposed legislation addresses ag programs that haven’t been updated since 2018, the last time Congress passed a full, five-year farm bill. This includes raising loan limits for producers. The 2018 bill’s lending provisions are based on 2012 data, according to Boozman.

The bill also would clear the way for year-round, voluntary sales of higher corn-based ethanol blends, known as E15, and restore mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef.

Boozman said Democrats are likely to face pressure from states to accept the one-year postponement. 

“I want what’s best for the states, and they need to understand that this is the deal,” Boozman said, adding that he believes it’s “very doable” for states to get PERs down below 6%. “This is the last offer.”

Will farm woes boost farm bill chances?

Boozman is encouraging farmers to speak up on the need for a farm bill. “They need to take their frustrations out by calling the members that represent them and say, ‘What’s the deal?’”

“I would ask them to look at the vote and see who voted for what,” he said. “Republicans have consistently, unanimously supported this.”

Crop growers in the U.S. are dealing with a multi-year farm economy downturn amid slumping commodity prices and surging production costs.

“Unless you’re in livestock, if you’re growing something, you’re losing money,” Boozman said. “We’ve had more bankruptcies this year than in the last probably four or four-and-a-half years in Arkansas … throughout the country.”

Editor’s note: Sara Wyant is publisher of Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., www.Agri-Pulse.com.