The Senate Agriculture Committee was unable to advance Farm Bill 2.0 to the full Senate prior to recess when the bill failed to get enough support on a partisan vote. Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) said he plans to resume his committee's markup of the bill within a day or so of lawmakers returning to Capitol Hill next month. All committee Democrats, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, voted against the bill and, with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) not present and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) home recuperating from a fall, Republicans didn't have the necessary votes. Opposition to a deal offered by Republicans to extend state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program compliance requirements for one year was not supported by Democrats who want at least a two-year delay to give states time to get their error rates down and grapple with budget changes.
Boozman says he's fought hard for a one-year delay, which has backing of the White House, and that'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." Boozman has 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 and updates to conservation programs. The bill would also authorize the year-round sale of E15 ethanol fuel blends. However, the E15 expansion remains contentious and may be dropped in favor of addressing the issue in standalone legislation which the Chairman had originally proposed.