U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s Statement on Agriculture Committee’s Markup of Long-Delayed Farm Bill

Sen. Smith and colleagues offered dozens of amendments to strengthen the Farm Bill, which ultimately failed to gain bipartisan support

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) released the following statement after the Senate Agriculture Committee failed to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill:

"Patience is a virtue, it's just not my virtue. I'm disappointed that we could not come to agreement on the Senate Farm Bill today, but we will keep working to find a path forward. It's crucial that we pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that meets the needs of farmers, ranchers and rural America, including year-round E15," said Sen. Smith.

"I'm glad that several of my provisions are included in this bill. However, it is not possible to pass a Farm Bill that fails to fix the deep cuts to SNAP that are taking food off the table for millions of Americans, including at least 1.5 million children. Democrats have offered a commonsense solution that would delay the giant cost shift to county taxpayers, which would end up costing Minnesota taxpayers $140 million, for two years," she continued.

"While the Republican have not accepted this so far, we will keep working. I'm grateful for the relentless efforts of Ranking Member Klobuchar to improve this Farm Bill and find a bipartisan solution. Amid shrinking markets, tariffs and skyrocketing costs for fuel and fertilizer caused by Trump's war in Iran, farmers need Congress to get the job done," she concluded.

Sen. Smith, along with her Democratic colleagues, were clear that they could not support a Farm Bill that did not delay the cost-shift of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by at least two years. Without this delay, counties would be forced to increase property taxes to cover the costs of administering the program, which most Minnesotans could not afford. Senate Republicans went forward with a markup in full knowledge that without a provision addressing SNAP, the bill would fail.

Democrats offered an amendment to delay the SNAP cost shift by two years, but it was blocked by Republicans. Sen. Smith pushed for multiple amendments to the legislation that would have improved its chances of passing, including amendments that would:

1. Allow for year-round sale of E-15
2. Expand Tribal self-determination authority for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
3. Establish self-determination authority for Tribal meat processing
4. Restore canceled Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants, which is particularly important for recipients who spent money preparing their operation for projects that the federal government had already committed to
5. Prohibit prediction markets from offering sports betting and casino-like games that violate state and Tribal regulations

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