Committee Deadlocks Over SNAP

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- The Senate Agriculture Committee's final farm bill markup vote failed Thursday, 10-11, leaving discussions open until the committee returns after the Senate's September recess.

Most amendments were decided on 12-11 party-line votes, favoring Republicans. While many farm policy provisions enjoyed bipartisan support, disagreements over SNAP kept members voting with their parties, defeating most Democratic amendments and leaving no path for the farm bill to move forward in August.

Republicans faced a difficult task trying to advance the bill given that Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remains out after a fall, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., left the meeting before the final committee vote.

The two successful amendments were the 34-amendment en bloc package (manager's amendment) and a 16-7 vote in favor of mandatory country-of-origin labeling.

The markup anticipated 206 amendments, but Democrats introduced only 13. Republican priorities were incorporated into the manager's amendment.

"We're not going to get a farm bill. That's the game here today," Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said earlier in the hearing. "All of us knew before we walked in this room. This is going to fall to a partisan vote over SNAP payments."

Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said he negotiated with the White House to soften the nutrition provisions. They agreed to delay state cost-sharing requirements by one year and allow states to use either their fiscal 2026 or 2027 SNAP payment error rate, whichever is lower, to determine future cost-sharing obligations.

Boozman said those concessions represented the furthest the White House was willing to go. Democrats argued the changes remained insufficient, and they would not accept them, leaving every vote in the markup to fall along party lines in Republicans' favor.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., offered an amendment to delay the SNAP state benefit and administrative cost-sharing provisions by an additional year. The Congressional Budget Office estimated it would cost about $19 billion.

"Causing more hunger in America is simply shameful," Lujan said.

Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., argued Congress had already demonstrated a willingness to spend more in other areas.

"If somehow the White House can find $70 billion extra for ICE, and they can ask for $70 billion for Iran, we can fix this second year," Klobuchar said.

She said a one-year delay would create inequities among states because those with the highest payment error rates would avoid the cost-sharing requirements longer than states that have already improved their performance.

"What we are asking for is simply to not have a situation where one state that has double the error rate of my home state is able to get off scot-free for two years," she said.

Republicans argued extending the delay would weaken incentives for states to reduce payment errors. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said the program should encourage employment while maintaining accountability.

"Isn't it a good thing to help people get a job, so they don't have to be on government assistance?" Marshall said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., praised Boozman's negotiations with the White House.

"I think you pushed as hard as you could," Thune told Boozman.

MCOOL

The MCOOL amendment directing the United States Trade Representative to reinstate mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef passed, 17-6.

Six Republicans rejected the amendment even though it was led by Majority Leader Thune.

All Democrats voted in favor. Republicans Sens. Mitch McConnell, Roger Marshall, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Justice, Jerry Moran and John Boozman voted no. Along with Thune, Republicans Deb Fischer, John Hoeven, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst voted to back it.

MCOOL is supported by the United States Cattlemen's Association and R-CALF, opposed by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

FARM AMENDMENTS

The committee debated unsuccessful proposals to restore roughly $2 billion in temporary cuts to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and require audits of farm program payments.

"The same principle that we're applying to the SNAP program may not have been applied to the payment programs," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said.

That dynamic was evident during debate over Welch's amendment to audit agriculture risk coverage (ARC) payments. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who noted he has worked on seven farm bills, expressed support for the amendment's underlying goal.

But Grassley ultimately voted against the amendment, saying, "I can't vote for your bill," as Republicans remained unified while Democrats continued opposing the committee's SNAP proposal.

Boozman argued one audit proposal failed to account for dairy producers too.

WHY THE RECESS?

Twelve Republicans voted in favor of moving the farm bill out of committee, but McConnell's vote was cast by proxy, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., was not present for the final vote. It is unclear why he was absent during the final minutes.

The committee did not favorably report the bill. It is in recess until the chairman calls the committee back into session -- likely in September, not later today.

If Tuberville had been present, the vote would have been tied 11-11, and the bill still would have failed.

Democrats held the line on securing a two-year SNAP cost-share delay. The White House and Senate Republicans had nothing else to offer.

Jake Zajkowski can be reached at jake.zajkowski@dtn.com

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