The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon passed its version of the farm bill on the second try. The five-year, $867 billion bill passed by a vote of 213-211, with no support from Democrats.
The previous bill failed in the House in May in a 198-213 vote. Fighting within the Republican party over immigration seems to have been the sticking point that caused the vote to fail. Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus voted against the bill as they sought to gain support on the unrelated Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Democrats were against the bill because of stricter work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Nearly 30 Republicans previously voted against the bill.
The new bill would impose new SNAP work requirements and would extend subsidies for farmers and government-backed crop insurers.
The Senate could vote next week on its version of the farm bill, which does not include changes to SNAP. If that bill passes, lawmakers would need to reconcile the two bills. The current farm bill expires September 30.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, has touted the strengths of the Senate farm bill.
Farmers see passage as a win
“Passage of the House farm bill today is a big win for America’s farmers and ranchers,” the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said in a statement. “By approving the 2018 Farm Bill today, members of the House recognized the serious economic challenges facing farmers and ranchers across the country.
“This bill recognizes what is working well, but it also makes much-needed improvements in risk management and crop insurance programs at a time when farm-income levels have slumped to decade lows. … The Senate bill also addresses the challenges our farmers and ranchers are facing today. We will also continue to focus our attention on other areas important to farmers, such as finding a solution for the very serious ag labor shortage, increasing market opportunities through trade and cutting the burdens of regulations that have piled up during previous administrations.”
