House House Agriculture Committee advances farm bill by Sarah Davis - 03/05/26 10:50 AM ET by Sarah Davis - 03/05/26 10:50 AM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING The House Agriculture Committee voted to advance this year’s farm bill early Thursday morning after more than 20 hours of deliberation. The legislation will now proceed to the House floor for a full vote.  The Republican-backed legislation passed 34-17 with the support of seven Democratic members. The committee adopted several amendments introduced by both sides of the aisle related to the tobacco industry, wildlife connectivity, cover crops and virtual fencing.  Democratic Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.), Sharice Davids (Kan.), Don Davis (N.C.), Gabe Vasquez (N.M.), Adam Gray (Calif.), Kristen McDonald Rivet (Mich.) and Josh Riley (N.Y.) voted in favor of advancing the measure. The 800-page bill text , which includes provisions for agricultural and food programs, was released earlier this month and largely resembles committee Chair Glenn Thompson’s (R-Pa.) farm bill from two years ago. Congress has not passed a full farm bill since 2018, though it’s typical for a new bill to be enacted every five years.  Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), a member of the panel, celebrated the bill’s passage in a post on social platform X after the early morning vote. “Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve been focused on delivering a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill that is written by farmers for farmers, and by rural America for rural America,” Finstad said. “I’m proud to join my House Agriculture Committee colleagues in passing legislation today that accomplishes this goal across all 12 titles,” he continued. “I look forward to getting it across the finish line for our farmers, producers, and rural America.” Republicans already included many provisions typically covered by a farm bill in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed last year without Democratic support. This bill included several reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program opposed by Democratic legislators.  Democrats also pushed back on this new farm bill, accusing Republicans of ignoring difficulties posed to the agriculture industry by President Trump’s tariffs.  Ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) criticized the “absolutely flawed farm bill” and claimed the legislation “has not been a bipartisan process” during the markup meeting Tuesday evening. “Despite the administration’s claims, all is not well in farm country,” Craig said in her opening remarks.  The Minnesota Democrat specifically singled out Trump’s global tariffs, which have driven up costs for U.S. producers and consumers.  The Supreme Court struck down a majority of these economic policies earlier this month, finding the Trump administration illegally enacted these tariffs under an emergency statute. “The president’s trade war has been illegal this entire time and Republicans have given up their power,” Craig said. “My Republican colleagues should have fought to expand domestic markets, not allow our largest trade partners to be pushed into the arms of our biggest agriculture competitors.” Committee members clashed over tariffs during discussion of an amendment proposed Tuesday by Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) that would have sought financial relief for farmers affected by higher costs resulting from these policies. “They didn’t write these policies, they didn’t start a trade war, but they are paying for it every single day,” Tokuda said. “Seed costs more, fertilizer costs more, equipment costs more, fuel costs more. Margins that were already thin are disappearing.” Thompson dismissed the amendment, saying tariffs are “clearly” under the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee.  The committee did pass another amendment proposed by Gray that would require a report to the committee on how proposed changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would impact U.S. agricultural products. Additionally, Democrats pointed out that one provision in the farm bill concerning pesticides appears to be at odds with demands from the conservative-led “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.  The new bill prevents states and courts from penalizing pesticide manufacturers that do not include health warning labels beyond those required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Concerns levied by MAHA Republicans and Democrats led to similar provisions being stripped from an EPA appropriations package passed earlier this year.  Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.) addressed the MAHA movement’s concerns with so-called forever chemicals during the Tuesday meeting. “I believe the direction this farm bill is going, the direction this country