en.Wedoany.com Reported - U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, plans to hold a farm bill markup session in late May or early June. This follows the House's passage of a farm bill on Thursday. "It really helps us that the House has moved some things through first," Boozman told Agri-Pulse on Thursday at the Capitol. "Congress wants to get a farm bill done."

The Senate is not expected to be in session during the last week of May, with a recess scheduled to begin on May 23, and lawmakers returning on June 1. Unlike the House bill, which only requires a simple majority to pass, the Senate version needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, meaning it must secure the support of at least seven Democrats. The top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, said she wants to revisit a policy design that requires shifting most of the costs of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to the states. The ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, Minnesota Democratic Representative Angie Craig, also urged Senate Democrats to push on this issue.

In a statement following the House vote, Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats said, "We have made clear that the farm bill must meet the needs of America's farmers and families. With small farm bankruptcies at a five-year high, the farm bill must address rising input costs, provide new opportunities for domestic markets, and fight for a trade agenda that works for everyone." However, Boozman insisted that revisiting the SNAP cost-sharing issue is off the table, reiterating to Agri-Pulse on Thursday: "We're not going to reopen that issue."

Another issue on the table is whether to include language regarding pesticide labels. This provision would essentially make the Environmental Protection Agency's pesticide labels a national law, but it has faced opposition. After the provision was removed from the House bill, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker, a member of the Agriculture Committee, said on Thursday: "So now in the Senate, we're going to have a similar fight, and I'm going to be one of those continuing to push to clean up our food system, to get rid of these toxic chemicals that are linked to many cancers and other diseases." Boozman acknowledged on Thursday that the pesticide labeling provision is a "controversial" issue, stating he is discussing with Democratic colleagues whether to include it in the Senate farm bill text.

Furthermore, senators may clash over a measure to repeal state animal welfare laws. Boozman said he remains "very supportive" of an amendment on this provision, but acknowledged it remains a divisive issue in the upper chamber, saying, "I don't think any Democrat will vote for it." If the Senate passes its own farm bill, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson said he would defend the relevant language in the House bill during the conference committee, emphasizing to reporters: "I will fight for that provision."

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