House lawmakers advanced a farm bill in March that would spend more than $1 trillion over a decade without putting a dent in the U.S.’s massive spending deluge.
Thelegislationseeks to leave in place SNAP policy changes first implemented in the One Big Beautiful Bill in July 2025, while expanding federal control over pesticide labeling and directing additional funding to broadband, climate and conservation initiatives.
The bill also includes a provision affecting ranchers, setting up a possible showdown between rival factions of GOP lawmakers.
Compared to thepreviousFarm Bill passed in 2018, which was projected to cost roughly$867 billionover a decade, spending has remained relatively unchanged, shifting funds instead of making noticeable cuts.
“No big increase, but no real cuts,” Bryan Riley, director of the free trade initiative at the National Taxpayers Union, told the Daily Caller News Foundation, describing the bill as a “glass half full” approach, avoiding major spending hikes but falling short of meaningful reductions.
The bill would have no effect on direct spending over the 2026-2036 period,accordingto the Congressional Budget Office, meaning it reallocates funds within the farm bill, which is projected to exceed$1 trillionover the next decade. The U.S. faces a growing debt burden expected to hit$40 trillionby November.
The CBO’s findings come as lawmakers continue to preside over the massive national debt, with mandatory spending programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid driving a large share of federal spending. Despite warnings, Congress failed to enact significant deficit reduction, as public approval for Congress hit 16 percent in March,accordingto Gallup.
The Farm bill could also face additional resistance from lawmakers over a provision tied to theFood Security and Farm Protection Act (S. 1326), which would limit states’ ability to propose agricultural standards on products originating from out-of-state producers. Supporters of the provision, including lawmakers such as Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst,arguedthat the measure would protect farmers and ranchers from the burdensome and conflicting state regulations. Ernst was a co-sponsor of the bill in 2023, which formerly was known as the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act.
According to sources with knowledge of the bill, Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, and Republican New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino are expected to push to have the language removed as the bill moves forward.
“As liberal activists who have never set foot on a farm try to ban our bacon with dangerous and arbitrary overregulation, I’m fighting to make sure the voices of the farmers and experts who know best are heard,” Ernst said in a statement to the DCNF. “After the U.S. Supreme Court left an open invitation for Congress to strike down Proposition 12, it’s time we band together to end California’s war on breakfast and other nonsensical standards that threaten our national security, jeopardize the livelihoods of our farmers, and hike up prices at the grocery store,” Ernst added.
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