MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Robin Kelly IL

Rep. Kelly’s bipartisan bill to help farmers added as amendment, passes the House

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted favorably on H.R. 7567 – the Farm, Food, and National Security Act. The legislation will be sent to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.

Following passage of the bill, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), who voted for the bill, issued the following statement:

“Agriculture is fundamental to Virginia’s Ninth District. Our farmers plant crops, raise livestock and tend to the agricultural needs of our communities.

“I believe the Farm, Food, and National Security Act will help support Ninth District farmers, ranchers and rural communities. This bill will stimulate the farm economy, generate business growth and create opportunity for Ninth District farmers.”

BACKGROUND

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act allows institutions like Virginia Tech to be eligible to receive federal funding through various research grant opportunities. 

Among other things, the farm bill creates a pilot program for custom slaughter establishments. Small meat-processing facilities will be able to sell their meat inside the Commonwealth of Virginia as long as their product has a label that says the product is not inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Meat processing and rendering grants are available to support resilient local food systems, analyze businesses opportunities and improve local and regional meat or poultry processing and rendering. 

Additionally, the promotion of 21^st century technologies will help farmers modernize their operations to make them more efficient.

Also, the farm bill prioritizes financial support to domestic specialty crops. Vineyards in Virginia’s Ninth District can take advantage of this benefit.

Groups that support this bill include the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, the Virginia Agribusiness Council, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and the Virginia Pork Council.

In a February op-ed, Congressman Griffith wrote about the importance of policies that tend to the health care needs of rural communities, including American farmers.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Paul Tonko (Capital Region New York)

Tonko Calls Out Farm Bill that Leaves Families and Farmers High and Dry

Tonko votes NO on Republican bill that rubberstamps Trump tariffs & cements massive cuts to food assistance

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (3rd District of Ohio)

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty released the following statement regarding today’s vote on the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, also known as the “Farm bill.”

“Today, I voted against H.R. 7567 — the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.”
 

“Since the start of Trump’s trade war, families are paying $310 more for groceries, farm income is down $25 billion, and farm bankruptcies have increased 46%. The evidence is clear: Americans are facing an aggressive affordability crisis, because of Republican policies.  Instead of working with Democrats to make life more affordable, Republicans have prioritized cutting food assistance, protecting corporate profits over health, and stripping funding to underserved communities.”
 

“This harmful legislation codifies the devastating $187 billion cut to SNAP from the One Big Ugly Bill that passed last summer. It makes this Republican-driven attack on working families permanent, and takes away food assistance for 40 million Americans, including 16 million children, 8 million seniors, 1.2 million veterans, and 4 million people with disabilities. Many states may even be forced to stop providing SNAP entirely. At its core, this is cruel, merciless policy that will have dire consequences. I refuse to support a bill that attacks the most vulnerable among us —it’s unforgivable.”
 

“This legislation would also weaken public health protections, jeopardizing the health and wellbeing of farmworkers and everyday Americans. It prioritizes big pesticide companies by shielding the largest manufacturers from liability if their products cause users serious health problems – even cancer. It also weakens environmental safety reviews meant to protect the health of working people. No company should be free from accountability for causing harm to its users.”
 

“This bill is yet another example of Republicans abandoning marginalized communities as it makes harmful changes to the 2501 Program – the only USDA program specifically focused on supporting minority farmers by ensuring they have access to all USDA services.”  
 

“Despite my opposition to the broader Farm Bill, I am pleased that the Heirs’ Agricultural Resources, Viability, Education, and Succession Transfer (HARVEST) Act — legislation I led with Congressman Shomari Figures — was included in the final package.”
 

“The HARVEST Act directs the Secretary of Agriculture to study how historically Black land-grant universities can better educate and assist the next generation of farmers on inheriting and transferring agricultural land and assets. Over the last century,  Black Americans have lost approximately 90 percent of their farmland — dropping from roughly 19 million to 3 million acres. The USDA has called heirs property ‘the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss,’ and without clear title, families cannot qualify for federal aid programs, compounding the disadvantages Black farmers already face.”
 

“Though, broadly, this Farm bill package causes irreparable harm to Americans, I am proud to have led the HARVEST Act, which pushes Congress to finally address the root causes of heirs property, bringing us one step closer to mending the systemic gap barring Black farmers and agriculturalists from the success they deserve.”
 

“I will continue to advocate for Black farmers and marginalized communities to advance food and agricultural equity.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-3)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Sharice Davids voted to pass the Farm Bill, emphasizing the need to provide certainty for Kansas farmers and address rising costs for families after years of delayed action in Congress.

“Kansas farmers and families have been hit over and over again this past year — from unstable markets to rising input costs and the ripple effects of reckless tariffs,” said Davids. “What they need most right now is stability, not uncertainty. This bipartisan Farm Bill moves us toward more predictability for producers, lower costs for everyone, and a system that actually works for the people feeding and fueling this country. We still have work to do to ensure no family goes hungry, but this is a step toward giving farmers and families the certainty they deserve.”

Today’s Farm Bill:

• Supports farmers’ bottom line: Expands access to farm loans, strengthens crop research, and invests in rural development
• Cuts red tape and boosts innovation: Increases federal support for precision agriculture tools and modern farming practices
• Protects food security: Adds cybersecurity safeguards for the agriculture and food supply chain
• Grows rural economies: Supports new markets for American-grown renewable fuels
• Lowers grocery prices: Strengthens the agricultural supply chain so farmers can produce food more efficiently, helping bring down grocery costs

Davids-Led Provisions:

• Supports Kansas wheat farmers: Requires USDA study on winter wheat as a cover crop to reduce regulatory confusion and improve soil health
• Fixes Tribal parity gap:  Ensures Tribes can access USDA agricultural credit and support programs under the same terms as states

Last year’s partisan budget, which Davids voted against, took food off Kansans’ tables by cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. In Kansas’ Third District alone, 8,000 households could lose access to food assistance, and up to 27,000 grocery stores nationwide could close due to lost revenue. These cuts are also reducing farm income by more than $30 billion and threatening good-paying jobs. Davids supported an amendment to today’s Farm Bill that would reverse these reckless cuts, but it was not accepted by the Republican majority.

Davids previously went on a Farm Bill listening tour, where she visited a poultry and livestock operation in Anderson County, a co-op in Franklin County, a goat farm in Miami County, an organic vegetable farm in Johnson County, and an educational community farm in Wyandotte County. Davids also toured a Garnett-based renewable ethanol producer, participated in FFA activities at Spring Hill High School, served a school lunch at Black Bob Elementary in Olathe, spoke with industry leaders on financial support programs for farmers, toured a dairy farm in Garnett, and more.

Kansas families and farmers are feeling the impact of President Trump’s trade policies. The Budget Lab at Yale estimates the average American household will pay about $2,400 more per year due to tariffs. Davids raised these concerns during a U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing on trade disruptions — concerns echoed by Kansas Farm Bureau President Joe Newland.

Last year, Davids also wrote to the President noting that while short-term support may be necessary, Kansas producers consistently prefer “trade, not aid.” Following continued pressure on farm economies, the President later announced a relief package for farmers affected by tariff-related economic hardship.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), co-founder of the Congressional Vietnam Caucus, issued the following statement marking 51 years since the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975:

“The fall of Saigon 51 years ago marked a turning point in world history, one that led to unimaginable hardship for the millions of Vietnamese who were displaced by a brutal communist regime. I remember volunteering with the Red Cross back in 1975 when the first wave of refugees were arriving in San Jose. On Tháng Tư Đen, or Black April, we honor the South Vietnamese military who fought alongside American troops to defend democracy and human dignity. This solemn day is also an opportunity to reflect on the many contributions the Vietnamese diaspora has made to California and to our country. I’m immensely proud to represent tens of thousands of Vietnamese Americans, and I will always use my voice in Congress to advocate for the release of political prisoners in Vietnam and for human rights globally.”

Lofgren represents large parts of San Jose, home to nearly 150,000 Vietnamese residents, making it the largest Vietnamese population of any city outside of Vietnam. She visited Vietnam in 2015 with then-Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), where they met with dissidents persecuted by the Vietnamese government and handed government officials lists of political prisoners who ought to be released. 

Lofgren and Rep. Sam Liccardo (CA-16) participated in a ceremony on Saturday at the Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC) in San Jose to commemorate Black April. She is also co-leading a resolution with Rep. Derek Tran (CA-45) to recognize the 51^st anniversary.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined CNBC’s Squawk Box to highlight House Republicans’ action-packed legislative week, including steps to fund the Department of Homeland Security, advance national security tools, and move key economic legislation. Leader Scalise criticized Democrats for opposing border security measures at a time of heightened threats.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full interview. 
Highlights from Leader Scalise’s interview:On Republicans passing critical legislation on the House floor this week:“It’s been a very busy week here in Congress with a lot of really important things to do. And yesterday we really cleared a lot of those big, big items. We moved the FISA renewal bill, which is really important for the United States to be able to stop terrorist attacks that come from abroad. And this goes back to September 11th. It’s a tool that we reformed a few years ago dramatically, and we need to renew it so that this tool can still be available to stop terrorist attacks.“Then, as you mentioned, you got Homeland Security that’s been shut down because the Democrats want open borders. They’ve kept the department shut down for months. So, we moved a budget last night that’s going to at least allow us to fund the border security portions of Homeland Security. Then we have a separate bill that we’re going to move that will fund everything else from TSA to FEMA to the Coast Guard. So, it’s a two-pronged approach that we’re going to take because the Democrats shut it down. “Then we’re going to move the Farm Bill. This is so important to all of rural America, farming country in America, anybody who deals with agriculture. The Farm Bill is critically, critically important. Chairman Thompson and the Agriculture Committee put together a really good bill. There’s going to be a number of amendments we’ll take up first, starting in probably the next two hours, and then we will move through to passing the Farm Bill over to the Senate later today. So all of that happened. And by the way, we had King Charles come and address a joint session of Congress, which was really, really historic and special as well.”On radical Democrats voting for open borders:“Look, if anything else, it shows just how far left the Democrat Party has moved to where they will unite to shut down the Department of Homeland Security, literally, because they want open borders. And the biggest issue in the 2024 presidential election was border security. President Trump ran on it. He won on that issue, and he’s worked with us in Congress to secure the border. And of course, Democrats in Washington have voted every step of the way against those measures, including now shutting down the entire Department of Homeland Security. At the end of the day, this is not good for them. It shows how radical they’ve become, you know, where basically the Mamdani wing of the party has taken over. So, they’re going to have to answer for that in November.“We’ve worked with President Trump to make life more affordable, to address many of the problems that we inherited. Also, to stabilize the tax code. No tax on overtime, no tax on tips. Seniors got a really big tax deduction that we put into that Working Families Tax Cut, and every Democrat voted against it because they want you to pay more taxes. They want to keep more power in Washington. That’s going to be what the big fight’s about in November.”On President Trump’s leadership in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran:“Did anybody want a nuclear-armed Iran? I think if you ask most normal people, they would say absolutely not when they just slaughtered 30,000 of their own people. They were about to get a nuclear weapon, and President Trump stopped that. But that’s going to get resolved. President Trump’s negotiating that right now…“We know they had the, basically, the enriched uranium that was ready to go, and with the ballistic missiles to deliver them. Did we really want to wait until they were really developing a bomb that they would be willing to send out… You know, look, I think everybody knows the world is a safer place, America is a safer place without a nuclear-armed Iran.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Newhouse (4th District of Washington)

Headline: Newhouse Applauds House Passage of the Farm Bill

For Immediate Release: April 30, 2026
Contact: Juan Ayala, (202) 713-7750

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement after the House passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill. This legislation passed by a bipartisan vote of 224-200. 

“Rural America is in dire straits. I have heard from farmers, ranchers, and producers across Central Washington about their continued struggles due to high input prices, market disruptions, and labor costs,” said Rep. Newhouse. “This is why the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is desperately needed. This important legislation will strengthen support for the over 250 specialty crop growers in the Fourth District alone, improve access to much-needed crop insurance, invest in agricultural export programs, and reauthorize voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs. As a third-generation farmer in the Yakima Valley, I know firsthand the challenges farm country is facing, and the importance of reauthorizing the Farm Bill. I urge the Senate to act swiftly so we can deliver for Rural America.”

Background

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 was introduced on February 13, 2026, and would reauthorize U.S. Department of Agriculture programs through 2031. Its focuses include investing in farming, expanding trade efforts, enhancing domestic fertilizer production, and boosts national security regarding foreign ownership of farmland.

This legislation also makes significant investments in the specialty crop industry by providing over $1 billion for programs that enhance their competitiveness and supports specialty crop research. 

Earlier this year on March 5, 2026, Rep. Newhouse voted to advance the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 from the House Agriculture Committee. The legislation advanced with a bipartisan vote of 34-17. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Olivia Porcaro 202-225-6165

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after voting in favor of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, which reauthorizes, modernizes, and improves key Department of Agriculture programs through 2031:

“Agriculture is truly the heart of America – and as a lifelong Oklahoman, I know this firsthand. In fact, Oklahoma ranks first in the nation in the production of rye, third in the nation in the production of wheat, fifth in the production of cattle, pecans and grain sorghum, tenth in peanuts, and twelfth in watermelon. It is clear: Oklahoma’s farmers, ranchers, producers, and growers are essential to not only our state, but to our entire country,” said Congressman Cole.

“In return, as the representative for over 13,000 farms and ranches in the Fourth District alone, I will always fight to ensure they are not neglected in Congress. Today, in passing the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026, we did just that,” said Congressman Cole.

“This legislation focuses on practical policy for farm country. It will help to keep family farms in business, competition thriving, and grocery shelves stocked. This bill maintains America’s position as a global agriculture leader – because food security is national security. It provides farmers with the protection and stability they need to maintain healthy crops and produce, as well as streamlines working lands conservation programs and prioritizes responsible management of federal forests. Furthermore, it enacts these commonsense policies all while remaining budget neutral and prioritizing integrity and transparency,” said Congressman Cole.

“The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 was must-pass legislation, and I am proud to have helped push it across the finish line with my vote today. I also want to thank my good friend, fellow Oklahoman, and former Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Congressman Frank Lucas, for all he did to secure these important provisions vital to Oklahoma. We must always ensure that those who put food on our tables and fuel the American people are not left behind,” said Congressman Cole.

Wins for Oklahoma in the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026

• Protects and enhances conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program, supporting Oklahoma’s 84 conservation districts.
• Updates essential watershed programs that so many Oklahomans rely on to maintain and improve the over 2,100 watershed flood control dams in Oklahoma.
• Increases funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program so that our producers can more easily tap into trade expansion.
• Authorizes state and tribal led local food purchasing programs to increase the purchase of local foods, growing local economies.
• Reauthorizes critical rural development programs that invest in economic development, job creation, technical assistance, and utility services.
• Reauthorizes vital water infrastructure programs such as the Rural Water and Wastewater Circuit Rider Program. This program supports the over 3,000 technical assistance visits that Oklahoma Rural Water Association circuit riders carry out each year.
• Incorporates middle mile infrastructure into the ReConnect Rural Broadband Program, improving access to rural areas and lowering costs for users and providers.
• Reauthorizes important research, extension, and education activities that our land-grant universities, such as Oklahoma State University, Langston University, and College of the Muscogee Nation, rely on to produce innovative and cutting-edge research.
• Increases loan guarantee to $50 million for the Rural Energy for America Program and ensures that projects using underutilized renewable energy technologies, such as distributed wind projects, are highlighted.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN)

WASHINGTON – Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced five amendments to the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. This bill fails to address the rapidly growing affordability crisis facing American workers, families, and farmers. This bill retains Republicans’ $187 billion cut to SNAP in last year’s reconciliation bill, leaving over 40 million Americans without the support they need to put food on the table. 

Congresswoman Omar’s amendments aim to combat hunger here in the United States and abroad, ensure workers’ safety in meat processing facilities, and invest in sustainable farming practices.

“The Farm Bill that Republicans have put in front of us today completely misses the mark in addressing the needs of working people,” said Rep. Omar. “I introduced five amendments to reform our agriculture and nutrition policies to guarantee that no child goes hungry at school, prioritize workers’ safety in food processing industries, and ensure we’re doing all we can to end hunger here at home and end the global food crisis. It is shameful that Republicans completely abandoned vulnerable children and families in this bill. I will always put working families over big corporations looking to profit at the expense of the American people. I could not in good conscience vote for this bill.” 

The amendments introduced by Rep. Omar include:

• Omar #297 – Prohibits school lunch shaming.
• Omar #306 – Establishes a universal school meals program.
• Omar #340 – Categorizes controlled-environment agriculture, including vertical farming, as a high-priority research area.
• Omar #355 –  Blocks two proposed rules that would raise line speed limits in poultry processing facilities and remove line speed limits in pork processing facilities entirely, and prohibits substantially similar rules in the future.
• Omar #366 – Doubles the funding for Food for Peace.

The full text of the amendments is available here.

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