Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa tried to add Prop 12 language, but the attempt was denied by Chairman John Boozman from Arkansas, who said the time to make amendments in committee has passed.

鈥淚owa鈥檚 livestock producers deserve more than expressions of support. They deserve action. They deserve an honest debate, which I was denied today,鈥� she says.

There continues to be opposition in committee to the SNAP nutrition provisions part of the farm bill. Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota says a one-year delay in state cost sharing still isn鈥檛 enough, and that needs to be resolved as the bill moves forward.听

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 at least change the numbers or where it hits for the error rate for the second year, we鈥檙e going to have this unfair situation. We are in good faith, and I appreciate the chairman trying to fix that second year.鈥�

Klobuchar also noted concerns about a decision to take money away from conservation programs.

Senator John Hoeven from North Dakota says there鈥檚 time for debate on the Senate floor, because time is running out to pass a farm bill.

鈥淔armers are facing very low commodity prices, high input costs. They need our help. They need this farm bill,鈥� says Hoeven.

The full U.S. Senate is now expected to consider the bill, but it鈥檚 unclear when that might happen. The chamber is scheduled to remain in session into early October. The House adjourned this week, earlier than expected.

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The vote failed 10-11 along party lines. Proxy votes from GOP Sens. Tommy Tuberville (AL) and Mitch McConnell (KY), who were both absent, did not count toward the official vote tally. 

The farm bill is a sprawling agriculture and food aid package normally passed every five years. Congress has not passed a farm bill since 2018. The House  in April.

The panel’s chair, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), announced that he would reconvene the committee when the Senate returned from recess in September to reconsider the package. 

In a statement shared on social media after the vote, Boozman said he was “deeply disappointed” by the Democratic lawmakers who voted against the bill.

Democrats on the panel have  against a provision in the bill that would require states to help cover the cost of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding, demanding that the implementation date be delayed by two years to allow states to reduce SNAP error rates.

Boozman has offered a one-year delay, but the panel’s Democrats said this was not enough time. 

“This debate was about the FARM BILL, not protecting the mismanagement of billions of dollars in food aid,” the chair said in his statement. “I remain committed to working with those who put our farmers and rural communities first on advancing solutions that strengthen agriculture.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the ranking member on the committee, said in a statement after the vote that she remains “committed” to working with Boozman on this legislation. 

The Democrat has said that the farm bill would unfairly reward states with high SNAP error rates while penalizing states with mid-level error rates. 

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