On Monday, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, the Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, unveiled the long-awaited Senate Farm Bill, a sweeping piece of legislation that touches nearly every aspect of the nation’s food and agriculture policy.
The release comes after the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill extension on Sept. 30, 2023, leaving many programs under the bill vulnerable to lapsing as the year-end deadline approaches. Programs such as crop insurance, commodity support and nutrition assistance are set to expire at the end of the year, heightening the urgency for Congress to take action. It also comes at a key time for millions of Americans, as elevated grocery prices and persistent inflation have exacerbated food insecurity across the country.
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While Stabenow’s text prioritizes expanding access to federal nutrition programs like SNAP, the bill’s release also highlights the deepening partisan rift over the Farm Bill’s priorities. Republicans have criticized the legislation as overly focused on food aid at the expense of agricultural producers — and now that they control the House, Senate and White House, it’s unlikely Stabenow’s version of the bill will be passed by year-end, if at all.
Her announcement, however, underscores her commitment to advancing comprehensive food policy reform during her final term in office and could spur some progress on the essential legislation.
“I would encourage my Republican colleagues to join with us to get this done now,” Stabenow said during a floor speech Monday. “I firmly believe that it is the best and probably only path to pass a five-year farm bill this year.”
When the Farm Bill extension expired on Sept. 30, leaders from hunger and food justice organizations nationwide raised alarms about the further delays in federal action that the lapse would likely exacerbate.
“The political gridlock holding up the Farm Bill is a clear sign that our leaders have not been prioritizing the needs of working people who sustain our food and farm system, as well as the long-term needs of our changing climate,” Nichelle Harriott, the policy director of the HEAL Food Alliance, said in an Oct. 1 statement. “Current policies shaping our food system fall short of addressing the systemic barriers BIPOC producers and workers face and enable a handful of powerful corporations to exploit working people and our environment.”
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Harriott continued: “Our representatives........