Why It Matters
The House-passed and Senate committee-reported farm bills would both reauthorize expired farm and food programs, but they diverge on tobacco funding, farm loans and when states start sharing SNAP costs, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. The report, updated Nov. 10, compares H.R. 7567 and S. 5526 with current law.
Both bills would generally extend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and related nutrition programs through Sept. 30, 2031. S. 5526 would delay states' SNAP benefit cost-sharing by one year, to fiscal 2029, and H.R. 7567 would not.
The House bill would restore tobacco eligibility for Commodity Credit Corporation funding. The Senate bill would keep the exclusion and add reporting requirements.
The Big Picture
The 2018 farm bill, enacted as P.L. 115-334, expired in 2023. Congress extended it three times, most recently in November 2025 through P.L. 119-37, which covers fiscal 2026. The fiscal 2025 budget reconciliation law, P.L. 119-21, changed selected farm programs but did not reauthorize all expired ones.
The House Agriculture Committee ordered H.R. 7567 reported on March 5, and the House passed it 224-200 on April 30. The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee fell short on Aug. 6 with a 10-11 vote. It ordered S. 5526 reported on Sept. 16 by 12-11, and the bill reached the Senate on Sept. 24.
The report also describes differences in commercial fishing loans. H.R. 7567 would allow farm ownership and operating loans and cover fish processing facilities. S. 5526 would allow operating loans only.
Both bills would move Food for Peace responsibilities from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA currently runs Title II under a temporary interagency agreement.
H.R. 7567 would require a report on USDA's SNAP food restriction waivers. Both bills would require reports on beef import effects. The report notes a Feb. 6 proclamation that raised the 2026 tariff-rate quota for Argentine beef.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored H.R. 7567 as budget neutral for mandatory spending over fiscal 2026 to 2036. It projected a $162 million increase over the first six years. The report's budget figures cover that bill. CBO released an analysis of S. 5526 on Oct. 28.
The Bottom Line
S. 5526 has sat on the Senate calendar since Sept. 24. H.R. 7567 has been in the Senate since May 19. The Senate has not passed either bill, so the House and Senate versions would still need to be reconciled before any farm bill reaches the president.
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