While the Senate Agriculture Committee has advanced a new Farm Bill, disagreements remain over SNAP funding and how states will share future program costs. Despite those differences, lawmakers from both parties say farmers need Congress to finish the job before year’s end. Ranking Democrat Amy Klobuchar says challenges facing agriculture are making action more urgent.
“That is key when you see what our farmers and ranchers are facing right now throughout our country. The headwinds of the tariffs, the headwinds of the closing of the Straits of Hormuz, the cost of fertilizer have all hit them very hard. And that makes it even more imperative that we get this farm bill done.”
She says Democrats have been willing to compromise, but argues their request is modest.
“But what we’re asking for is to reverse just 10% of the total cuts to nutrition. That’s because half the cuts are for other things, and then this is 10%, only two years of the SNAP cut. And that is by delaying the cost shift to the states.”
Klobuchar says the issue is fairness, noting some states could face significant costs even after reducing their error rates.
“And we do not understand why Alaska with an error rate of 23% is still eligible for a two-year delay and Minnesota at 12% is not. And we don’t get why Florida, who reduced their error rate, did the right thing to about where Minnesota is. The privilege of doing that for them is to now pay over almost a billion dollars, $900 million for reducing their error rate, or other states that have shot their error rate up now don’t have to pay anything. So, that is something that we hope we can resolve because if we just do one year, and we don’t at least change the numbers or where it hits for the error rate for the second year, we’re going to have this unfair situation.”
Republicans see it differently. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says their Farm Bill reflects years of bipartisan work and includes several Democratic priorities.
“I mean, I just, I don’t understand how you can take a piece of legislation that has 100 bipartisan bills and then a process where you allow a manager’s amendment that had 18 Democrat amendments, 16 Republican amendments. This has been a very bipartisan process, and the objection is over a one-year delay in the reforms to the program that are designed to get fraud out of the program, to get the states to play ball. And so that one year delay, if you, if the Democrats, if this doesn’t go anywhere, and current law stays in effect, the states, many of them represented on the committee, are going to pay a total of $17 billion more.”
Even some Democrats who share concerns about the legislation acknowledge growers are tired of waiting. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman says he’s hearing that message loud and clear from his constituents.
“I have never had a farmer or an agriculture interest in my office saying, hold that line, John, hold this line. How many years late is this bill? You know, I have held the line here as a loyal Democrat. And my vote really doesn’t matter because it’s not anywhere close to 60. But I’m just saying we got to find a way for, you know, my office is bombarded, and they are desperate to get this farm bill here. Because it’s been three years, you know, now that’s late. And two things can be true at the same time here where you can fight for it, but at some point now it’s not caving. It’s just saying America’s farmers are counting on this bill and we get it out.”
Senators passed the Farm Bill out of Committee on a party-line vote, but members say they are closer to an agreement than they were six months ago. Leadership has not yet announced an official date for floor consideration.