Senate Status: What the Senate Is Doing

## Where the Senate is right now The U.S. Senate has **not** yet held a markup of a 2026 farm bill. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has not scheduled one publicly. As of May 1, 2026, no Senate companion bill has been introduced. This is the central question of the next 60–90 days: when does Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) move? ## Senators to watch ### Senate Agriculture Committee leadership - **Chair: Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)**: has signaled willingness to move "soon" but has not committed to a date. Boozman is balancing ag industry pressure with concerns about the SNAP cuts. - **Ranking Member: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)**: has stated Democrats want bipartisan progress but will push to delay state SNAP cost-shifts. ### Other key Senators - **Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)**: corn/ethanol priorities; will not let E15 die. - **Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)**: same. - **Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)**: Prop 12 / animal welfare advocate; will fight federal preemption. - **Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA)**: heirs' property champion; supportive of Title V provisions. - **Sen. John Thune (R-SD)**: Senate Majority Leader; controls floor calendar. - **Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)**: Senate Minority Leader; high SNAP-population state, will push back hard on cuts. ## The four Senate fights to expect ### 1. SNAP cuts This is the biggest. Senate Democrats will push amendments to: - Delay state cost-shift implementation - Restore eligibility for ABAWDs above expanded age thresholds - Increase SUA flexibility - Restore some COVID-era LFPA-style local food procurement Whether any of this passes depends on whether Senate Republicans need 60 votes to clear cloture (highly likely on a farm bill). ### 2. Year-round E15 If the standalone E15 vote in the House fails or doesn't happen, expect Senate Republicans from corn states to attach E15 to the farm bill. If E15 is in the bill, expect Senate Republicans from oil-state interests to fight it. ### 3. Proposition 12 federal preemption California will sue if this becomes law. Several Senate Democrats, Padilla (CA), Booker (NJ), and possibly Warnock (GA), will offer amendments to: - Carve out specific livestock categories - Limit the preemption to interstate commerce - Require alternative animal welfare standards if states are preempted ### 4. Conservation funding Senate appropriators may push back on the EQIP reduction. Sen. Hassan (D-NH), Sen. Hickenlooper (D-CO), and others may try to restore EQIP funding. ## What we'll update on this page We update this page when: - Senate Agriculture Committee schedules a markup - A Senate companion bill is introduced - Major amendments are offered - Floor votes occur - Conference committee is convened