Today, the House passed its farm bill (H.R.7567) in a 224-200 vote. 14 Democrats joined Republicans in support, while only three Republicans opposed the bill. The farm bill, typically renewed every five or six years, extends and updates agricultural and food programs, including farm commodity revenue supports, agricultural conservation, rural development, forestry, and domestic nutrition assistance. The House passed several amendments to the Farm Bill during floor consideration yesterday, such as ones to allow SNAP participants to use benefits to purchase rotisserie chicken and to remove pesticide labeling language from the bill. Democrats have criticized the bill for failing to restore SNAP funding cuts under the Republicans’ last reconciliation package (H.R. 1). Meanwhile, Republicans have emphasized that the bill does not increase net direct spending, though the bill could cost approximately $15.8 billion between 2026 and 2031 if fully funded.

The impacts of the farm bill relevant to special districts  include, but are not limited to:

• Good Neighbor Authority: Allows special districts to enter into Good Neighbor Authority agreements with the U.S. Forest Service (SEC. 8412).
• Natural Disasters: Expands the Rural Water and Wastewater Technical Assistance and Training Program to provide funding for disaster and recovery assistance (SEC. 6429).
• Rural Development: Reauthorizes several USDA Rural Development water infrastructure programs, including but not limited to (SEC. 6401-6411): 
  • Rural Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
  • Rural Development & Utilities Program
  • Water Source Protection Program
• SNAP:
  • Permits a state agency to hire a contractor to undertake SNAP functions (SEC. 4103).
  • Requires USDA to include all payment errors by states in a supplemental section of the annual payment error rate report, regardless of dollar amount. (SEC. 4105)
  • Mandates USDA make the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot a permanent shopping option nationwide (SEC. 4111).
• Wildfire Suppression:
  • Volunteer Fire Assistance Program: Expands eligibility, reduces required threshold, and allows for Secretarial discretion to waive cost-sharing requirements (SEC. 8104).
  • Sets procedures for the Forest Service to suppress wildfires on National Forest System lands, including a requirement to begin suppression within 24 hours after detection. (SEC. 8408)
  • Increased ability for timber sales on National Forest System lands (Sec. 8416)
  • Creates a categorical exclusion (CE) for forest thinning up to 3,000 acres within a 10,000-acre project area as long as activity is developed with input from county leaders (SEC. 8401).

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman told POLITICO that he expects to strip out the most controversial provisions of the bill to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and move the bill within “weeks not months.”