The 2018 Farm Bill failed to pass the U.S. House of Representatives last Friday, going down 198-213 with all Democrats and 30 Republicans voting against the legislation.

While House conservatives were always tepid toward the farm bill for various policy reasons; the conservative House Freedom Caucus voted against the bill for reasons unrelated to ag policy. The Freedom Caucus demanded House Leadership hold a vote on immigration legislation before they would commit to supporting the farm bill. An agreement on when an immigration vote would take place could not be reached, so the Freedom Caucus joined Democrats in voting against the bill. Democrats unanimously opposed the bill due to work requirement reforms made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps.

The day before the vote, President Trump tweeted his support of the House Farm Bill, hoping to win support from the Freedom Caucus.

After the vote, the White House in a statement encouraged the House to try again.

“President Donald J. Trump is disappointed in the result of today’s vote in the House of Representatives on the Farm bill, and hopes the House can resolve any remaining issues in order to achieve strong work requirements and support our Nation's agricultural community,” the statement read.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) responded by issuing a statement that read, in part, “We may be down, but we are not out. We will deliver a strong, new farm bill on time as the President of the United States has called on us to do. Our nation’s farmers and ranchers and rural America deserve nothing less.” 

“We’re not done with this,” Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) told reporters. “We’re going to continue until we get it done.”

The legislation will be voted on again June 22, after the House considers immigration reform.

During the last farm bill process in 2012, similar Republican infighting caused the bill to be delayed by two years. If a bill isn’t passed by the House and Senate by the August recess, allowing time to conference during the month-long August break, the chances of completing a farm bill on time are exceptionally slim, since the 2018 campaign season will take up much of the fall. 

The 2018 bill contains regulatory relief provisions NAAA and other industry partners have been advocating for that would be extremely beneficial to aerial applicators, such as:

• A fix for the duplicative National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit by eliminating its requirements for pesticides registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
• Much needed improvements to endangered species consultation and the pesticide registration process under FIFRA.
• Language on cooperative federalism advancing states as coregulators of pesticides, but prohibiting local or county governments from advancing pesticide rules, such as Lincoln County, Oregon’s efforts last year banning aerial application of herbicides to forestry.