HYDE-SMITH VOWS TO KEEP WORKING TOWARD FARM BILL 2.0 PASSAGE AS COMMITTEE DEMOCRATS BLOCK PROGRESS
Miss. Senator Bemoans Minority Party Lip Service to Helping Farmers, Ranchers & Rural America
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today vowed to continue working with her Senate Agriculture Committee colleagues to advance the Farm Bill 2.0 that represents a full replacement of the 2018 Farm Bill that technically expired in 2023.
The Senate Agriculture Committee today conducted a markup of the Agricultural Act of 2026 or Farm Bill 2.0 – a comprehensive measure that includes more than 100 bipartisan agricultural and nutritional measures, including many supported by Hyde-Smith. However, the package stalled along party lines after Democrats balked at a compromise for holding states accountable for errors in administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“We were given a choice to move forward with a strong bipartisan compromise that serves the best interests of American farmers, ranchers and rural communities or to continue clinging to insincere lip service that does nothing to help anyone. I’m disappointed that Farm Bill 2.0 was stopped today because this was our chance to deliver the certainty and support that farmers and ranchers in Mississippi and across the nation not only deserve but need to compete and prosper in today’s marketplace,” Hyde-Smith said.
“Despite the committee being at loggerheads today, I will continue to work with Chairman John Boozman and my colleagues to get a new farm bill over the finish line this year,” the Senator said.
As negotiated on a bipartisan basis, Farm Bill 2.0 builds on the “Skinny Farm Bill” provisions enacted with the Working Families Tax Cuts Act that modernized the farm safety net by significantly increasing reference prices and crop insurance subsidies. The bill before the Agriculture Committee further strengthened commodity, dairy, crop insurance, and standing disaster assistance programs while expanding opportunities tailored to the unique needs of specialty crop producers. It also included permanent, year-round E15 authorization.
Hyde-Smith sponsored and supported several provisions included in the Farm Bill 2.0, among them:
- The Rural Water System Disaster Preparedness and Assistance Act (S.1019), which establishes a USDA emergency preparedness and response technical assistance program to provide grants to rural water associations to improve the ability of rural water and wastewater systems to prepare for and respond to natural disasters or other extreme weather events.
- The Middle Mile for Rural America Act (S.3633), which is a five-year reauthorization of the USDA Rural Utilities Service middle-mile infrastructure program to help connect rural communities to high-speed internet.
- The Okhissa Lake Rural Economic Development Land Conveyance Act (S.2440), which directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain U.S. Forest Service acreage to the state-affiliated Scenic Rivers Development Alliance in support of a rural economic development project at Okhissa Lake in southwest Mississippi.
- The Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act (S.3099), which would create new opportunities for online direct-to-consumer meat and poultry sales for producers, processors, and small meat markets by allowing for the interstate internet sales of certain state-inspected meat and poultry.
- The Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act (S.1693), which would improve crop insurance affordability by increasing premium support for the highest levels of coverage and by enhancing the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO).
During the committee markup Thursday, the committee adopted two Hyde-Smith amendments based on legislation she introduced:
- A country-of-origin labeling measure that follows the Let Americans Buy with Explicit Labeling (LABEL) Act (S.3065) and would ensure all seafood, whether wild-caught or farm raised, is clearly labeled with its country of origin and method of production.
- Reauthorization of a cost-share grant program based on the Roll-Over Prevention and Safety (ROPS) Act (S.3580) to continue a U.S. Department of Agriculture program for retrofitting older tractors with rollbars and other protections.
###