Farm Bill Debate Set to Heat Up at Senate Appropriations Committee Meeting

The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet Thursday to debate its version of the FY24 Ag bill. The committee will meet to officially set the toplines for each of the 12 appropriations bills.

During the past three years, Senate Appropriations has marked up only three bills, all in one early August 2021 session for the fiscal 2022 cycle. No Senate appropriations bills have reached the floor during that time.

The debt limit deal set spending caps that Senate appropriators are planning to write to. But House appropriators are writing their bills below the caps. 

In recent years, to avoid a shutdown, leaders have put out a last-minute spending deal that combines all 12 bills. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has promised he won’t put an omnibus spending bill on the floor, saying it is all part of his plan to change Congress into a more functional place that gives power to the rank and file — but which could make resolving any impass harder.

What if Congress doesn't agree on farm bill spending?

While the funding deadline is the end of September, most lawmakers expect Congress to extend the deadline through a continuing resolution (CR) to the end of December to avert a government shutdown.

If all 12 appropriations bills aren’t passed by year-end, automatic across-the-board cuts known as a sequester would kick in, owing to a provision in the debt-ceiling pact designed to prod talks along.