Just weeks after conservatives in the House of Representatives rejected GOP leaders’ farm bill proposal because its spending cuts did not go far enough, the chamber passed modified farm legislation on July 11 after dropping all food stamp spending from the bill.
Aside from eliminating the Nutrition Title and all food stamp spending, the newly passed farm bill (H.R. 2642) is otherwise nearly identical to the earlier version (H.R. 1947) that failed in June. The new bill’s Conservation Title matches that of H.R. 1947, and still includes a new Regional Conservation Partnerships Program (RCPP) that would offer USDA grant assistance to local farmers that partner with nearby water utilities and other stakeholders on joint projects that protect or improve water quality. A very similar RCPP program was also part of the farm legislation that won approval in the U.S. Senate on June 10.
With each chamber having approved a farm bill, the next step should be for a House-Senate conference committee to convene and hammer out a final version of the legislation. But Republican House leaders have resisted moving to conference until they first approve a stand-alone food stamp bill, though the timeframe for doing so is unclear. The current farm bill expires at the end of September, so House leaders will have to decide on the path forward soon after returning to Washington after Labor Day.
With attention focused on the sharp partisan disagreements over food stamp spending, the RCPP program and its eligibility for water quality improvement projects received little attention during the House’s debate. Given the close similarities between the RCPPs included in the House and Senate farm bills, the program will almost certainly be part of a final farm bill – whenever it may come together.