The House Agriculture Committee’s 2018 Farm Bill (H.R. 2): A Side-by-Side Comparison with Current Law

Summary

Congress establishes national food and agriculture policy through periodic omnibus farm bills. The 115th Congress has the opportunity to set the direction for farm and food policy because many of the provision in the current farm bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014, (P.L. 113-79) expire in 2018. The 2014 farm bill consists of 12 titles that address commodity price and income support, crop insurance, conservation, domestic food assistance, trade and international food aid, credit, rural development, research, horticulture, forestry, bioenergy, and various other provisions.

The House Agriculture Committee approved its version of omnibus farm legislation for FY2019-FY2023—H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018—on April 18, 2018. In terms of cost, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the programs in the bill with mandatory spending, such as nutrition programs, commodity support programs, major conservation programs, and crop insurance, at $867 billion over a 10-year budget window (FY2019-FY2028), which is equivalent to its baseline scenario in which existing farm bill programs would be extended with no changes.

H.R. 2 would reauthorize most existing programs for five years through FY2023. Overall, the bill provides continuity with the existing framework of farm and food programs, even as it modifies numerous programs, alters the amount and type of program funding certain programs receive, and exercises the Committee’s discretion not to reauthorize others.

For example, H.R. 2 would make changes to the eligibility requirements for individuals participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including expanding the population that is subject to work requirements, while requiring states to offer employment or training opportunities and increasing funding to the states for those purposes. Among changes to commodity programs, an escalator provision could raise the effective reference price for crops enrolled in the Price Loss Coverage program (PLC) under certain market conditions. H.R. 2 also would amend payment limits and the adjusted gross income limit on eligibility for farm program payments to expand the list of producer exemptions from payment and income limits. Payment limits on certain disaster assistance programs also would be raised. The Dairy Margin Protection Program for milk producers is recast as the Dairy Risk Management Program, featuring an expanded range of coverage choices and lower premium rates on the first 5 million pounds of annual milk production.

Within the conservation title, H.R. 2 would repeal the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) that has an enrollment of 70 million acres, and uses some of the savings to increase funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). It also raises the acreage enrollment limit under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The bill further increases the loan limits for guaranteed farm ownership and operating loans. Bioenergy programs that comprise a separate title in the 2014 farm bill are included in a title on rural infrastructure and economic development. Also, while many of these bioenergy programs currently are authorized for mandatory funding in addition to being authorized for discretionary funds, H.R. 2 authorizes only discretionary funding.

For rural communities, the bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to reprioritize certain loan and grant programs to respond to specific health emergencies, and to develop prevention, treatment and recovery services. It also would require the Secretary to promulgate minimum acceptable standards for broadband service from the present day up to 30 years into the future.

In sum, the Committee-passed bill launches the debate in Congress over the policy direction and program details for the next five years.