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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In June 2024, committee action offered some progress on a new Farm Bill, but it was only an early legislative step. Lawmakers were still divided over nutrition spending and climate-related funding, and the bill needed approval from both chambers. Congress ultimately extended the 2018 Farm Bill authorities through September 30, 2024, rather than passing a new five-year bill by the deadline.
Why committee progress did not guarantee a Farm Bill
By June 16, 2024, the House Agriculture Committee had passed its version of the Farm Bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. But the Senate Agriculture Committee had not held a markup. Republicans on that committee had outlined a proposal, while Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow questioned whether the House bill could pass the full House. She said she did not want to advance a Senate bill that would meet the same fate.
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Stabenow also objected to provisions she said reduced nutrition spending and removed climate guardrails from Inflation Reduction Act funding. Those disagreements made it harder to find a proposal that could win support in both chambers. The June reporting identified the objections but did not quantify their budgetary effects. Farm Policy News, June 16, 2024
One committee vote was only one early step
A June explanation of the legislative path counted one of eight broad steps as complete: House Agriculture Committee passage. The simplified sequence included passage in both agriculture committees, passage by the full House and Senate, a conference process to reconcile differences, approval of the compromise by both chambers, and the president’s signature. This was an explanatory count, not a formal congressional status tracker or a probability estimate. Farm Policy News, June 16, 2024
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In practical terms, committee passage meant the bill had advanced, not that Congress was close to enacting it. Senate committee action, floor votes, agreement on a final version, and presidential approval remained.
Lawmakers were not equally pessimistic
Senators described different expectations for what might happen next. Stabenow said, “I don’t want to bring a bill out of the committee in the Senate that has the same fate” as the House bill. She also said, “The way you get a farm bill is making sure everybody’s happy. And so that recognition hasn’t happened yet.”
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Sen. Roger Marshall expected another extension, saying, “I think we’re looking at another extension and I’m sorry to say that.” He also argued, “I’m not going to do a bad bill. This is a five-year bill. We have to get it right.” Sen. Chuck Grassley was more optimistic about later movement. Although he said Senate action was unlikely that month, he said, “I’ve had good conversation with Senator (Debbie) Stabenow,” and, “I think she’s making a good faith effort to move ahead.” These comments showed differing levels of confidence, not a settled path to passage. Farm Policy News, June 16, 2024
What happened at the September 30 deadline
Congress did not enact a new Farm Bill by the deadline. Public Law 118-22 extended the 2018 Farm Bill authorities through September 30, 2024. A Congressional Research Service report dated September 13, 2024 describes the law as a one-year extension for 2024. The outcome aligned with the extension lawmakers had anticipated in June, but that result was not certain when they made their comments. Congressional Research Service, September 13, 2024
What an extension means
An extension continues the existing law’s authorities for the period Congress specifies; it is not the same as enacting a new five-year Farm Bill. In 2024, the extension kept the 2018 law’s authorities in place through September 30. It resolved the immediate deadline without resolving the disagreements that had stalled work on a new bill.
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