Increased funding for the farm bill next year is not guaranteed. There is also no certainty that increased funding can be counted on for political support for a new five-year farm and nutrition bill.
A streamlined budget process known as “reconciliation” allows the Senate to pass tax, spending, and debt limit bills with a simple majority vote instead of a filibuster-proof 60-vote margin.
However, United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is doubtful the process could be used to pass a partisan farm bill.
Other members of the Senate have signaled they are open to using reconciliation if needed and if the November elections make it possible, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.
Farm bill funding became one of the biggest sticking points on Capitol Hill after budget writers gave the two Ag committees no new farm bill spending authority over the budget baseline. This lack of new funding led to the back and forth dispute between farm and food programs.
Reconciliation has been used some two dozen times since 1980 for everything from welfare reform and tax cuts to the Biden American Rescue Plan.
