Senate Agriculture Committee fails to advance farm bill

The Senate Agriculture Committee failed to advance a version of the five-year farm bill following a 10-11 vote. The legislation, which is at least three years overdue, was blocked due to partisan disagreements regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Key points of contention involve how long states should be allowed a delay before being required to share the costs of benefit payments based on error rates. Democrats have sought to delay the implementation of rules that would force states to fund a portion of these costs.

The narrow defeat was influenced by the absence of Republican Senators Mitch McConnell and Tommy Tuberville. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-AR, stated that the bill will not be abandoned and indicated plans to resume the markup of Farm Bill 2.0 when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill on September 14.