Overview
- After more than 22 hours of debate, the panel approved the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 with bipartisan support, including seven Democrats.
- Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson pressed for a quick House floor vote, while Ranking Member Angie Craig criticized the package as inadequate and withheld support.
- The five-year, roughly $1.3 trillion bill renews crop insurance and disaster aid, funds rural broadband, water systems and hospitals, strengthens REAP, and moves Food for Peace oversight to USDA with at least 50% U.S.-sourced food.
- Fewer than 10 amendments passed, adding food-waste research, broader grant eligibility for volunteer fire departments, a REAP reserve fund, and a USMCA impact report, as Democratic attempts to undo SNAP cost-cutting provisions failed.
- Industry groups praised the step forward—citing severe farm pressures and more than 175,000 farm losses since 2017—and urged a swift House vote and a Senate markup, with NCFC highlighting co-op access to REAP and pork producers seeking regulatory relief.