The Senate Agriculture Committee will take up a farm bill of its own in the coming months, with the timing depending in part on how debate over a House version proceeds next week, Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., told Agri-Pulse Thursday.
The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled on Tuesday to take up a GOP draft bill that addresses provisions not included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in 2025.
"We'll see how his markup goes," Boozman said in reference to House Ag Committee Chair Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa.
An aide later clarified to Agri-Pulse that the committee is looking at late spring for potential dates.
“We're committed to getting the rest of the farm bill done,” Boozman said.
Congress hasn’t approved a full farm bill since 2018, and House Democrats have been criticizing House Ag's GOP draft over its preservation of recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, its provisions to preempt California’s Proposition 12 and language to shield pesticide companies from liability lawsuits.
"I think there are some challenges in this bill,” Rep. Angie Craig, Minn., the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, told Agri-Pulse on Wednesday. But she also stressed that the bill has some "good elements."
Democrats have been working on their markup strategy and considering amendments. Craig said that she plans to use the session to draw attention to the inadequacy of the $12 billion in ad hoc assistance the administration has provided so far.
“'l'll also use it as an opportunity to talk about the struggles of working families in our country,” she said. “Affordability will be a thing.”
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