A package of funding bills assembled by House and Senate appropriators that needs to pass before the end of January does not contain any more aid for farmers despite a push by some lawmakers.
That appropriators agreed on the package of bills released Jan. 19 is something of a surprise, but Congress seems poised to pass it by Jan. 30, the date the current continuing resolution funding the government expires. A vote was expected in the House the week of Jan. 19, with a vote in the Senate expected the following week.
There had been an expectation Congress would need to pass a continuing resolution for some agencies, which would have provided a way to add farm aid.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven (R-ND) said earlier that the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA) the Trump administration announced in December was not enough and Congress should provide more aid in a continuing resolution. The lawmakers had talked about adding as much as $15 billion in aid to a legislative package.
Hoeven told DTN in an email that lawmakers will have to find another way to push for aid. “At this point, it looks like we will pass the appropriations bills without a continuing resolution, so there isn’t a vehicle at this time to include the additional ag disaster assistance,” Hoeven said. “We will continue looking for opportunities to advance this assistance, such as a potential supplemental appropriations bill.”
A Boozman spokesperson said, “Chairman Boozman will continue working with his colleagues to find a way to deliver the resources producers need to keep farming. A supplemental package would be a viable option.”
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN-02), ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee had said earlier that House Agriculture Democrats had agreed on a package of aid to both farmers and participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which Republicans restricted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Craig’s bill proposed $17 billion in agricultural aid.
“Democrats have put an offer on the table that helps both hungry families and hurting farmers. Farmers know a good deal when they see it,” Craig told DTN in an email. “Republicans must decide whether they are capable of making a deal that helps farmers, families and Republican state budgets or continue to back the president’s agenda which leaves working people and family farmers behind.”
In mid-January, 56 groups wrote congressional leaders stressing the need for additional support and federal policies to increase long-term domestic demand.
“America’s farmers, ranchers, and growers are facing economic pressures that threaten the long-term viability of the U.S. agriculture sector,” the groups said. “An alarming number of farmers are financially underwater, farm bankruptcies continue to climb, and many farmers may have difficulty securing financing to grow their next crop.”
The legislation under consideration, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, was “negotiated and delivered on a bipartisan, bicameral basis,” according to a House Appropriations Committee news release. The bill covers the Defense; Homeland; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development titles. USDA and the Food and Drug Administration were funded under a previously passed measure that ended the government shutdown last November.
“At a time when many believed completing the FY26 process was out of reach, we’ve shown that challenges are opportunities. It’s time to get it across the finish line,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK-04) said in a news release.
Cole said the bill maintains a provision “supporting livestock haulers from burdensome requirements.” — Jerry Hagstrom, DTN political correspondent and Chris Clayton, DTN ag policy editor
