The farm bill continues to face an unclear road forward, even as the House Agriculture Committee voted 34-17 on March 5 to advance a new five-year bill. House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson has expressed his hope to bring the legislation to the full House floor by Easter (April 5); while Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) hasn’t scheduled a floor vote on the package, Chair Thompson has said that leadership supports the bill.
Meanwhile, the Senate’s path remains unsettled. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) has said that he plans to release a farm bill draft “sometime in the spring,” and he expressed his desire to keep the package cost-neutral. Chair Boozman also acknowledged that the Senate version will need to be more bipartisan than the House bill to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, but he declined to specify which House provisions would be included or excluded.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has suggested the Senate may ultimately work off the House-passed bill rather than draft its own, noting that using the House bill under regular order — and amending from there — may be the more practical route. On the other side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for farm bill provisions addressing food affordability, market consolidation, and foreign ownership in agriculture.
For more information, contact RCRC SVP of Governmental Affairs Mary-Ann Warmerdam.