WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — The Senate Agriculture Committee’s effort to advance a new farm bill hit a major setback Thursday as lawmakers failed to approve the legislation during a critical markup session.
The disagreement centers around a proposal requiring states with high SNAP payment error rates to take on a greater share of program costs. Democrats have pushed for a longer implementation timeline, while Republicans have proposed a shorter delay.
Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas joined us on Thursday’s Market Day Report to discuss the outcome.
In his interview with RFD News, Marshall said Democrats voted against moving the bill forward, citing a dispute over changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as the primary reason for the breakdown.
Marshall said he was disappointed that lawmakers were unable to advance legislation that included several bipartisan agricultural priorities, including year-round E15, expanded crop protection support, higher USDA loan limits, rural broadband investments and farmer mental health resources.
“It’s just horrible news for the American farmer and rancher,” Marshall said. “This bill was full of bipartisan priorities, but they’re hung up on wanting states to be accountable when they have a high error rate administering SNAP.”
Marshall said Republicans had already offered additional time for states to meet the requirements, arguing the proposal would provide multiple years for states to address error rates.
He questioned why lawmakers could not reach an agreement on the issue.
“I’m just afraid if it wasn’t this, it would be something else,” Marshall said.
The Kansas senator urged farmers and ranchers to contact their lawmakers and ask why they opposed a bill that included several agricultural priorities.
One of those priorities was year-round E15, a longtime goal of corn growers and the ethanol industry. Marshall said the provision could create significant new demand for U.S. corn.
“Year-round E15 is about 500 million bushels of corn that would have been consumed if we would go to this,” Marshall said.
He said the provision could provide an economic boost similar to adding another major export customer for U.S. agriculture.
Beyond E15, Marshall pointed to other provisions in the bill, including increased reference prices for commodity programs, expanded USDA loan limits, additional conservation funding and support for beginning farmers.
The senator said access to credit remains one of the most important issues for producers, especially as farmers continue facing high input costs and lower commodity prices.
“It’s always been crop insurance—that’s first, second and third to a farm bill,” Marshall said. “But beyond the farm bill, what people are talking to me about back home is input costs. It’s fertilizer, pesticides, seeds and diesel.”
Marshall said the legislation would have provided additional certainty for producers who continue to navigate difficult economic conditions.
The failed vote comes just before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. Marshall said he believes the farm bill can still move forward later this year, but lawmakers will need to hear directly from producers while they are home.
“When these senators go home for this break, they’ve got to look farmers and rural America in the eyes and explain why they voted against this farm bill,” Marshall said.
He said he hopes conversations with producers will encourage lawmakers to return in September and find a compromise.
“I’m going to go home and lick my wounds, but we’ll get back up tomorrow and keep at it—just like my farmers are going to wake up tomorrow morning and keep at it as well,” Marshall said.
The Senate Agriculture Committee’s failure to advance the bill means negotiations will continue as lawmakers look for a path forward before the end of the year.
