After months of delays, Congress passed an $867 million farm bill known as the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (H.R. 2) easily this week. The Senate passed the legislation on December 11 by a vote of 87-13 in an earlier-than-expected vote, and the House passed it shortly after on December 12 by a vote of 369-47. President Trump has indicated he is likely to sign it. (The Hill, 12/12/18)
The bill passed with broad bipartisan support, though there was some opposition from some conservatives frustrated the agreement doesn’t include stricter work requirements for able-bodied adults who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Over the nearly two year drafting process for this Farm Bill WEF has been urging Congress to support programs and funding for conservation programs. In May, WEF and other members of the water sector sent a letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) asking for the Committee to preserve Title II, the Conservation title, funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. Title II funding includes additional incentives for farmers who employ practices that benefit source waters and authorization for water utilities to work with state technical committees in identifying their own priority areas. The bill provided funding increases and programmatic improvements to the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, all programs WEF urged Congress to support.
