The U.S. House approved a five-year farm bill with a 224-200 vote, sending it to the Senate to update major agriculture and nutrition policy after three years of extensions. The bill would authorize subsidy and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal 2031. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated an earlier version of the bill would not meaningfully affect discretionary federal spending over an 11-year window and would add $162 million in mandatory spending over the next six years.
Most Democrats opposed the measure, though 14 voted in favor, citing concerns over cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill passed with limited policy updates because Republican spending and tax cuts enacted last year already made major changes to the SNAP program, which helped about 1 in 8 Americans afford groceries in 2024. The farm bill passed Thursday was described as a “skinny” version, relatively short on major policy updates.
The bill includes new provisions: $200 million for a local food procurement program for use largely by food banks, moving authority for foreign food assistance programs from the defunct U.S. Agency for International Development to USDA, raising the limit for individual farmer borrowing from USDA, and expanding rural development programs that fund substance abuse and mental health services. An amendment removed a controversial provision that would have shielded pesticide producers from legal liability to warn users of cancer risks.
Democrats argued the bill does not address pressing issues farmers and SNAP recipients face, with Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota stating it “locks in the $187 billion cut” to SNAP and does not help alleviate rising costs from tariffs. The Senate has not yet introduced its version, with Senate Agriculture Committee chair John Boozman indicating a Senate text would be released “in the coming weeks.” Farm bills are typically written to last five years, but Congress last approved a version in 2018.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/2026/05/05/house-approves-farm-bill-mn-rep-decries-continued-cuts-to-snap-senate-has-no-version/89919197007/