US House Agriculture Committee Approves Farm Bill

After a two-day markup, the House Agriculture Committee approved a Republican authored farm bill by a margin of 34-17. Seven Democrats joined all GOP committee members to advance the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) on March 4, 2026.

Many Democrats expressed opposition to the bill over the $187 billion in cuts from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer. Republicans stressed the budget constraints they were facing and that the Farm Bill should focus on agricultural policy.

Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC) introduced an amendment to bring back tobacco as a commodity under the Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) for economic aid. Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) also spoke in support of the amendment. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) noted the 2004 tobacco buyout passed on a bipartisan basis and questioned the use of taxpayer dollars to promote domestic use of tobacco. "To me, that seems very inconsistent with the Make America Healthy Again agenda." Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA) said the issue of using CCC funds for tobacco "has been heavily debated" and tobacco farmers have missed out on aid that other commodities have received. "It's time to put tobacco on a fair and equal footing with other commodities," Thompson said. The tobacco aid was added back into the Commodity Title by a voice vote.

H.R. 7567 would change laboratory testing standards for state and tribal governments regulating hemp products. State and tribal regulators would have to establish a procedure to test the total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, or THC, a psychoactive compound in the plant. Current law requires the labs to only test for delta-9 THC. An amendment that would delay redefining hemp was withdrawn. As a reminder, the fiscal 2026 Department of Agriculture/FDA appropriations spending law set a 0.3% limit on total THC content, effectively banning intoxicating hemp products starting in November.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) indicated a Senate farm bill will be released in the coming months. That proposal will reportedly include language to legalize year-round E15 sales. If the full Senate and House can pass their own farm bills, the two chambers will negotiate a final bill to approve and send to the president’s desk. A new farm bill has not been enacted since 2018. Since its original expiration in September 2023, Congress has extended its provisions through multiple legislative actions, most recently pushing the expiration date to Sept. 30, 2026. Read more here.