Republican absences and unanimous Democratic opposition blocked the package, while Iowa Senate candidate Josh Turek faulted his party and backed the bill despite the food-aid fight.
The Senate Agriculture Committee failed to advance this year’s farm bill on Thursday after a 10-11 vote left the measure short of the majority needed to reach the Senate floor. All Democrats on the panel opposed the package over a dispute about SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) cost-sharing, while proxy votes from Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) did not count toward the final tally. Committee chair Sen. John Boozman said he would bring the bill back after the Senate returns from recess in September. The latest dispute centers on a provision that would require states to share the cost of SNAP benefits. Democrats, led by Ranking Member Sen. Amy Klobuchar, pushed for a two-year delay to give states more time to reduce SNAP error rates, while Boozman offered a one-year delay. Sen. Michael Bennet said the bill would make SNAP less accessible and strain Colorado’s budget. The failed vote also spilled into Iowa politics. State Rep. Josh Turek, the Democratic nominee in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, criticized Senate Democrats for blocking the bill and said he would have supported it, arguing Iowa farmers have waited three years for an overdue farm bill. Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, his Republican opponent in November, responded by attacking Turek over his past support for California’s Proposition 12 and opposition to her Save our Bacon Act language included in the farm bill. Congress has not passed a new farm bill since 2018, though the House approved its version in April.