This week, the Senate voted to send the Senate’s version of the reauthorization of the Farm Bill to a conference committee with the House. Congress can now initiate the final step of the legislative process where selected members of the House and Senate will meet to iron out the differences between each chamber’s version of the 2018 Farm Bill.
The greatest challenge for the selected conferees will be to reconcile the bill’s different approaches to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as the food stamps program. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) reiterated this week that he would like to have the 2018 Farm Bill enacted into law before September 30, 2018, when many of the 2014 Farm Bill programs expire.