Senate Republicans released the text of a five-year farm bill Tuesday afternoon, advancing legislation that omits priorities Democrats had sought to include in the package.
Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the bill aims to “increase investments for rural communities and foster a more resilient agriculture sector.” The proposal frames itself as a broad investment in rural America, though Democratic negotiators had pushed for separate provisions that did not make the final Republican draft.
Farm bills typically govern a wide range of federal agricultural and nutrition programs and must be renewed periodically. The current effort comes after Congress allowed the previous farm bill’s authorization to lapse, extending it on a short-term basis while negotiations continued. Whether Democrats will support the Republican-drafted text or push for amendments remains to be seen as the bill moves through the committee process.