Congress' last legislative moves before August recess

On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a markup of the Agricultural Act of 2026, also known as "Farm Bill 2.0.” After several hours of debate on amendments, the bill failed to advance through committee. All Democrats voted against the bill, holding firm on their need for a two-year delay of the SNAP state cost-share, rather than the one-year delay that Republicans offered in the bill. Before the final vote failed, a manager’s amendment was approved that included $200 million in funding for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a top priority for ASA, CSSA, and SSSA. While the bill failed to advance, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) intends to bring the bill back up for a committee vote after the August recess. 

In one of its final acts before the August recess, the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to hold federal funding steady until December 11. Included in the CR is language that would block the implementation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed changes on federal funding that were set to go into effect on October 1. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA submitted comments opposing the proposed changes. The House-passed CR funds the government through December 4 and does not include the delay in the OMB funding implementations. A final, compromise CR will have to be worked out when Congress returns in September before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA will soon be launching an action alert for Society members encouraging Congressional outreach about the negative impacts of the proposed changes.