Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 1965-2018

Summary

The farm bill provides an opportunity for Congress to address agricultural and food issues comprehensively about every five years. Over time, farm bills have tended to become more complicated and politically sensitive. As a result, the timeline for reauthorization has become less certain, and in general recent farm bills have taken longer to enact than in previous decades. Recent farm bills, beginning with the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246), have been subject to various developments that have delayed enactment, such as insufficient votes to pass the House floor, presidential vetoes, and short-term extensions.

The 2014 farm bill took more than 21 months from introduction to enactment and spanned the 112th and 113th Congresses. The House rejected a bill in 2013 and then passed separate farm and nutrition assistance components before procedurally recombining them for conference with the Senate. Somewhat similarly, the 2008 farm bill took more than a year to enact and was complicated by revenue provisions from another committee of jurisdiction, temporary extensions, and vetoes.

Whether the House or Senate proceeds first in committee or on the floor is also not always predictable. Both the 2008 farm bill and the 2002 farm bill were extended before their successors were enacted.

In 2018, a farm bill reauthorization was reported from the House Agriculture Committee on April 18 (H.R. 2). An initial floor vote on passage on May 18 failed in the House 198-213, but floor procedures allow that vote to be reconsidered through the legislative day of June 22, 2018 (H.Res. 905). The Senate has not yet marked up its bill.

This report examines the major legislative milestones for the last 11 farm bills covering 53 years and illustrates trends that may provide useful background and context as the current farm bill debate proceeds.