Senate Agriculture Committee Fails to Advance Farm Bill Over SNAP

The Senate Agriculture Committee failed to advance its version of the omnibus farm bill after a 10-11 vote, leaving the 2018 Farm Bill to operate under its third consecutive extension. The deadlock centered on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), specifically how much additional time states should have to address payment error rates before they are required to pay a share of benefit costs.

John Boozman, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, offered a one-year delay for states as a compromise, which he characterized as the final offer. Democrats, led by Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, rejected the proposal and demanded a two-year extension, arguing that a one-year window disadvantaged states with mid-level error rates. The bill's failure was further influenced by the absence of Senators Mitch McConnell and Tommy Tuberville, whose proxy votes were ineligible to advance the measure.

Despite the overall failure, the committee passed a bipartisan amendment to reinstate mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and approved a manager's amendment. The legislation includes other contested and sought-after measures, including year-round E15 ethanol fuel sales and updates to farmer loan limits.

Chairman Boozman has placed the markup into recess and plans to reconvene the committee for another vote during the first week of September. He noted that passing the legislation before the November midterms would now require a miracle.