The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry passed their version of the 2018 Farm Bill out of committee Wednesday. Unlike the House farm bill, the Senate version of the bill enjoyed bipartisan support, with a 20 to 1 vote in its favor. Senator Grassley (R-IA) was the lone “No” vote on the bill.
The bipartisan five-year legislation encompasses a broad array of agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry policy. The legislation, summary, and amendments are available here.
“The Senate Agriculture Committee’s bipartisan Farm Bill process is a reminder of how things should work in Washington – listening to the folks back home, working through issues with the other side of the aisle, then writing a good bill,” said Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow in the Committee’s press release. “Today marks another important step in the road to getting an on-time Farm Bill enacted into law. We urge our colleagues to support this bill.”
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has made it known he intends to bring the legislation to the Senate floor before the Fourth of July recess. However, the Senate will also be forgoing its traditional month-long recess in August, providing more floor time for deliberation.
