The House Agriculture Committee kicked off a partisan debate on a five-year farm bill Tuesday night, highlighting how coalitions that were once the glue of farm and food policy have frayed.
Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) said the legislation — a blend of Republican and Democratic proposals on conservation, energy, forestry and other matters — would wrap up improvements to farm policy begun with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed through the budget reconciliation process last year.
Democrats, however, complained that Republicans largely shut them out of the farm bill’s drafting, abandoning the traditional past cross-party coordination.
“The coalition only works if everyone at the table is actually respected,” said Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.). “The folks I talk to back home aren’t asking for political games. They’re asking for stability.”
