With Congress away on a monthlong recess, chances for a farm bill this summer are now completely dead. The forecast beyond that is only slightly more optimistic.
On Aug. 9, Senate Democrats blocked Republicans from advancing farm bill legislation out of the ag committee. When lawmakers return in September, Committee Chair John Boozman plans to call another vote to advance the bill. In the meantime, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will attempt to persuade the other to compromise. That may be easier said than done.
SNAP conundrum
Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over how much individual states will need to pay for payment error rates concerning funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
A provision in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) mandates that states with error rates higher than 6% cover a portion of federal funding corresponding to their rates. This provision puts states on the hook for potentially billions of dollars normally provided by the federal government.
Error rates include payments to recipients that were higher or lower than they were entitled to. Only nine states had error rates below 6% in 2025. States with error rates higher than 13.3% will be required to pay 15% of their benefits costs.
Complicating matters is another OBBBA provision that lets states with the highest error rates delay paying until fiscal year 2029. This was done to get the support of key Republicans, notably Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Her state boasts one of the nation’s highest error rates.
Other states with low and midrange error rates are slated to begin sharing costs on Oct. 1, 2027. Ag Committee Democrats contend this unfairly punished states with better rates by forcing them to begin incurring higher costs sooner. Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota argued that all states should be “on even footing” when the cost share law goes into effect.
Republicans attempted to assuage Democrats with a one-year delay for states with low to medium error rates. Democrats balked at that plan, insisting those states deserve a two-year reprieve as well.
During a call with reporters Aug. 7, Boozman accused Democrats of trying to blackmail Republicans. While saying he is willing to “engage with anything” Democrats want to talk about, he added that there is very little likelihood of Republicans further extending the SNAP cost-share deadline.
“I would say, as far as going any further than we’ve gone, there’s no sympathy in my conference at all to do that,” Boozman said.
Following Boozman’s remarks, Klobuchar said she was “committed to continuing to work” with Boozman to get the bill done. She reiterated that Democrats are simply asking for a two-year delay so that all states will be on the same footing to reduce their error rates.
“We also included a package of additional bipartisan amendments that I voted for and have long supported. I also appreciate that the chairman has acknowledged the problem with the SNAP cost shift to states and counties,” Klobuchar said. “But amid tariff-related rising grocery prices in states across the country where SNAP has been critical, this is only a one-year fix.
“It still advantages high-error-rate states over states with midlevel error rates. A state with an error rate twice that of Minnesota will pay nothing in the second year, whereas states that have reduced their error rates will still be disadvantaged over high-error-rate states.”
Questions over McConnell loom
Democrats were able to stop the GOP farm bill in part because Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been away from the chamber since June after suffering a fall. Without him, the ag committee has an even 11-11 split between Republicans and Democrats.
Boozman said he has been in contact with the senator in recent days, describing his voice as “very strong” and his demeanor as mentally “more than alert.”
“He’s a tough guy, and I expect him to come back at any time,” Boozman said. “I can’t tell you when. It’s his business. He needs to work that out, and I support it. But hopefully, we’ll get him back soon.
Will votes add up?
Even if the Ag Committee manages to advance the farm bill, the legislation still faces an uphill battle before the Senate. Filibuster rules mean Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to vote in favor of the bill. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster, allowing legislation to pass with a simple majority. Thus far, Senate Republican leaders have been reluctant to take that step.
If the Senate were to pass a farm bill, both congressional chambers would then need to reconcile the difference between the two bills. Notably, the Senate version includes year-round E15 — something the house was forced to abandon in its farm bill version that passed earlier this year. The House version also does not include the SNAP cost-share delay that was added to the Senate bill.
Congress has not passed a full five-year farm bill since 2018. Though farm safety net programs and nutrition finding was addressed in the 2025 budget reconciliation package, countless other farm programs have not been updated since 2018. The most recent farm bill extension is set to expire Sept. 30.