Overview
- Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman released a discussion draft that aims to be a bipartisan path to 60 votes by removing several items that divided the House and Senate.
- The draft omits the House-backed year-round E15 biofuel authorization, proposed legal protections for pesticide manufacturers, the rotisserie-chicken SNAP purchase policy, and the 'Save Our Bacon' preemption on state meat standards.
- Both chambers’ texts share major conservation and SNAP administration moves, including a cap on Conservation Reserve Program enrollment at 27 million acres through fiscal 2031, a new Forest Conservation Easement Program, and reauthorization of SNAP administrative authorities to 2031.
- Senate Democrats sharply criticized the draft for leaving out key Democratic priorities and committee staffers say no markup is set yet but hope to act before the August recess and enter conference with the House later this year.
- If negotiators keep the Senate’s pared-back approach, farmers and food assistance recipients could see stable conservation programs and SNAP operations while contentious issues like E15 and liability are resolved in later bills or conference talks, a process that will shape policy before the current extension expires on Sept. 30.