The Senate on Thursday cleared legislation raising the limit for farms to qualify for reorganizing their debts under agricultural bankruptcy law.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plans to mark up a highway bill before leaving town for the August recess.

A bipartisan farm bill that would protect crop insurance and commodity programs as well as nutrition assistance from cuts passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin, 86-11, clearing the way for negotiations to begin next month with the House. 

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has repeatedly downplayed the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement to the U.S. and that’s prompted farm-state senators to try to persuade him otherwise.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2017 – Two Democratic senators have called on President Donald Trump to withdraw the nomination of Sam Clovis to be a USDA undersecretary, saying he has expressed “extremist views” and is “wildly unqualified for the position.”

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 9, 2017 – The top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee told an audience of sugar producers and processors Wednesday that the biggest problem facing congressional farm bill negotiators, beyond plain old financing, is going to be what to do with SNAP, the federal nutrition program that used to be called food stamps.