The House of Representatives and U.S. Senate canceled votes this week to allow members time to mourn the passing of former President George H.W. Bush. Congress will push its legislative agenda into the final two weeks of December. Farm Bill negotiators were hoping to release the text of the final agreement on a 2018 Farm Bill this week, but Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) said the final bill will not unveiled until next week at the earliest.
The final version of the 2018 Farm Bill is likely to be unpopular among conservative members of Congress who supported Republican-backed provisions that were removed during last minute negotiations. These include new and additional work requirements in order to receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as well as extensive forestry reform efforts aimed at thinning national forests. To address forest management activities, Chairman Roberts hinted the forestry title could be spun-off as separate legislation.
Without Republican language on forestry or food stamp programs, the bill is expected to face opposition from conservative members of Congress, most likely on the House Floor. However, with the removal of these controversial provisions, it is expected nearly all Democrats in both houses of Congress will support the final agreement.
Senate Republicans plan to attach the remainder of the Fiscal 2019 budget to the Farm Bill. The deadline to pass the Fiscal 2019 budget was set for December 7, 2018, but was extended until December 21, 2018.