Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., says the committee will mark up the 2026 five-year farm bill next week at the earliest, provided Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is now hospitalized, returns to the Senate.
“We actually hoped to have it done next week. On the other hand, Senator McConnell has kind of changed things up a little bit, so it would be next week at the earliest,” Boozman said Tuesday. “Probably more likely the week after that.”
The Arkansas Republican said it “might be difficult” to hold the markup without McConnell. The committee is composed of 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Any absences would make it challenging to advance the legislation. McConnell has been out of commission since mid-June due to a fall, according to a letter released July 12.
Boozman also is negotiating with ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., over a proposal to delay a requirement in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act that requires states to pay a portion of the cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, starting Oct. 1, 2027. States will have to pay between 5% and 15% of the cost of SNAP benefits depending on their error rates. Due to OBBBA, states are also on the hook for a 50% increase in administrative costs starting this Oct. 1.
“First of all, [we] have to reach a deal if a deal is possible, and I don't know that a deal is possible yet. But we are working hard to try and visit with all of the people that are involved, all the stakeholders, and see exactly what we should be able to provide if, in fact, we provide the support,” Boozman said.
The national SNAP payment error rate fell from 10.9% in FY 2024 to 10.6% in FY 2025, according to the USDA.
The benefit cost-share requirement is the first time that has been mandated in the history of the program.
Starting Oct. 1, 2026, states will also be required to pay 75% of administrative costs for the program regardless of their error rates, which states currently share equally with the federal government.
It’s unclear if Republicans on the committee will back a cost-share delay.
“I'm going to wait until I see what Boozman comes up [with] as a compromise,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said, adding that he would consider compromises. “But I think it's awful when we try to cut fraud out of food stamps, and you got some states that have a 20% error rate.”
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said that he is “absolutely” in SNAP cost-shift delay discussions with other members of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The committee intends to keep the farm bill budget-neutral, but delaying the SNAP cost-share could put a wrinkle in that plan.
“It will cost you money to delay, and so we'll have to figure out how we can work around that,” Boozman said.
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