Eyes on Senate and Shutdown Vote

OMAHA (DTN) -- A U.S. Senate vote on Sunday advanced the possibility the government shutdown could end. But the Senate still needs to pass the bill, which would then need to be passed by the House and then also signed by President Donald Trump to reopen on the federal government.

The Continuing Resolution will reopen government immediately and extend funding for other federal agencies through Jan. 30, 2026. The bill would end the longest government shutdown in history, which reached 41 days on Monday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke on the floor early Monday, saying, "We are close to getting the government reopened."

If the bill passes as is, it will fully fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture through Sept. 30, 2026. The bill also extends programs under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (commonly known as the 2018 farm bill) until at least Sept. 30, 2026. That would again give the House and Senate Agriculture committees one more reprieve from having to complete the rest of the farm bill this year.

Sixty senators including eight Democrats voted on Sunday evening in favor of the bill, the minimum necessary to pass it, with 40 senators voting against it. The vote sets the stage for the Senate to vote on formal passage of the bill. If the Senate votes for it, then the House must return to vote for the bill because it is not the same bill the House passed earlier.

The bill does not contain an extension of premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act but does promise a vote on the issue.

The bill also provides $26.65 billion for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration along with related agencies, matching the Senate Appropriations Committee bill that was passed by the Senate 87-9 back in August.

That includes suspending provisions for permanent price supports for commodities such as milk, wheat and cotton through Dec. 31, 2026. That language prevents a spike in commodity prices from occurring at the end of the calendar year.

SNAP FUNDING

When it comes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the bill provides $107 billion in mandatory funding for the program, and the bill reimburses both SNAP and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) contingency reserve accounts used during the shutdown.

The Trump administration on Monday appealed rulings on SNAP to the U.S. Supreme Court in a bid to keep payments blocked until Congress approves a measure to reopen the government. Over the weekend, USDA sent out a letter ordering states that had been paid to "undo" those benefit payments. The appeals court ruling notes "the government sat on its hands for nearly a month" before trying to figure out how to provide payments in November.

COMMODITY CREDIT CORP

The bill would automatically provide $30 billion in annual funding to the Commodity Credit Corp., which is used to fund mandatory farm programs such as commodity and conservation payments. The fund also is expected to be used for a potential aid package for farmers.

FSA MONEY FOR LOANS

Under the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the bill includes $10 billion for farm loans "to ensure that our producers have access to necessary capital." The bill also includes language preventing USDA from closing any FSA county offices. Funding also is included to better track foreign-owned lands and provide the secretary of Agriculture with a position on the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS).

CONSERVATION, NRCS FUNDS

In conservation, the bill provides $850 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide technical assistance, despite the administration's budget proposal to eliminate technical assistance appropriations. The bill "decreases funding for offices and programs solely benefiting urban agriculture."

MONEY FOR AG RESEARCH, APHIS FUNDING

The bill would provide $3.8 billion for agricultural research but eliminate funding for "Biden-era priorities like Climate Hubs." The bill fully funds the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility at Kansas State University.

Under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) the bill includes $1.2 billion in funding. The funding includes provisions to deal with chronic wasting disease, New World screwworm and avian influenza.

LIVESTOCK-RELATED FUNDING

The bill also includes $13.5 million to help ranchers buy electronic identification tags to comply with animal disease traceability requirements.

In the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), $211 million will go to the agency, including $1 million to continue the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT MONEY

Rural Development would receive $4.1 billion, which includes $1.7 billion for housing rental assistance; $1 billion for single-family housing direct loans and $25 billion for guaranteed loans; $1.8 billion in grants and loans for rural businesses; $1.4 billion for rural water and wastewater infrastructure.

INTERNATIONAL FOOD ASSISTANCE

International food assistance includes $1.2 billion for Food for Peace and $240 million for McGovern-Dole programs, but also requires USDA to outline how it will transfer the Food for Peace program from the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Foreign Agricultural Service.

The bill also includes the Grain Standards Act extension. The extension has already passed the House, but the Senate amended it and the House will have to vote again on that provision.

HEMP PRODUCTS BAN

The bill rewrites the 2018 farm bill's provisions on hemp to end the unregulated sale of hemp-based products, including Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinols from being sold. The bill would limit cannabinoids to 0.4 milligrams combined per container. That eliminates "full spectrum CBD (cannabidiol) products" from the market. Businesses that have cropped up across the country in recent years are pushing back on the ban, which they say would affect thousands of jobs and edible products that are now sold across the country.

DTN Political Correspondent Jerry Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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