The Senate Agriculture Committee will take up a farm bill of its own in the coming months. Senate Ag Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) noted that the timing depends in part on how debate on the House version proceeds, as reported by Agri-Pulse. Regarding the possibility of passing a partial farm bill this year following the House Ag Committee's approval of a measure earlier this month, Boozman stated he does not intend to wait for the full House to act. Instead, the goal is to move a Senate version “as soon as possible—weeks, not months and months.”
Boozman said the Senate version will closely mirror the House bill but will address additional issues, including year-round use of E15 fuel and additional aid for the struggling farming community. While the Chairman would like to address E15 in the farm bill, he must coordinate with the Environment and Public Works Committee, which holds jurisdiction over the matter.
In the House, Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA) is reaching out to Democrats to garner support for the bill before bringing it to the floor. While the bill passed the committee with a strong bipartisan vote including seven Democrats, the committee’s top Democrat, Angie Craig of Minnesota, voted against it. Craig called the legislation a “shell of a farm bill” and predicted it would struggle to gain Democratic support on the House floor. Craig remains focused on addressing potential cuts to SNAP, the food nutrition program. Negotiations continue.