House Agriculture Committee Republicans on Wednesday approved their portion of the GOP’s big tax and spending measure, advancing some farm conservation programs but leaving many aspects of a long-overdue farm bill unresolved.
Farm policy was largely an afterthought as committee Democrats zeroed in on Chair Glenn Thompson’s proposal to cut as much as $300 billion from low-income nutrition programs through new cost-sharing requirements for states and other adjustments.
The vote was 29-25 along partisan lines after a markup that began Tuesday night and resumed Wednesday morning, lasting all day and into the night.
Thompson said the measure would preserve the nutrition programs’ mission, and “at the same time, we’re strengthening the farm safety net and delivering critical support to the farmers, workers, and communities that keep America fed.”
