**

Author's Note: The House eventually began the floor debate of the farm bill after 10:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday. Debate on an array of amendments continued until nearly 2:30 a.m. EDT. And lawmakers plan to resume debate Thursday morning. There will be votes on multiple key amendments on topics such as pesticides and animal ID tags.

**

OMAHA (DTN) -- The farm bill and plans to pass year-round 15% ethanol were at least temporarily derailed Wednesday after a prolonged procedural vote forced House leaders to reconsider their plans.

House leaders opted late Wednesday afternoon to bring the farm bill and an array of amendments to the floor after a day that was unclear if they had the votes to proceed.

The split over E15 and small oil refineries has fractured House Republicans.

The House passed a floor rule that allows lawmakers to debate not only the farm bill, but also a bill to renew foreign surveillance powers and pay for immigration enforcement. The vote was 216-210 after it was held open for more than two hours as House leaders worked to sway as many as 16 Republicans to vote on the measure.

The conflicts over the farm bill led House leaders to postpone plans to vote on the farm bill and a provision for year-round E15. Politico initially reported the agricultural and biofuels package could be delayed until after a weeklong recess.

The Republican caucus is fractured across multiple issues involving the farm bill and E15. Farm-state Republicans pressing to pass E15 have a different take on the E15 language than GOP lawmakers representing states with smaller petroleum refineries. Then there were divisions over pesticide provisions in the bill that have angered the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) constituents.

One of the problems with the E15 provision is that it would make several changes to the small refinery exemptions (SREs) in the Renewable Fuels Standard. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told lawmakers it would potentially cost "single-digit billions" to implement. Budget hawks then raised concerns because the E15 provisions weren't considered budget-neutral.

That CBO score created a conflict on the House Rules Committee, where Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., is the lead sponsor for the E15 amendment to the farm bill. The amendment has 47 bipartisan co-sponsors.

The fight in the Rules Committee led to a plan that would have had a separate vote on Fischbach's E15 amendment as "H.R. 1346," the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act.

If it had passed, then the E15 provision would have been attached to the farm bill.

But everything broke down during that two-hour vote, with nearly 20 GOP members withholding their support.

Then, immediate questions erupted over the status of the farm bill. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., posted on social media that the farm bill "is likely delayed for two weeks now due to the fight over E15."

Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., posted on X that he is "working hard to remove" the E15 language -- though it was offered as a stand-alone amendment that would take a vote to approve or reject. Brecheen then stated he believes E15 would increase fuel costs and the bill would reduce SREs by 80%. Brecheen also called it a "mandate," though the bill would only approve voluntary E15, and it would be up to retailers to decide to offer it -- just like they do now.

Beyond E15, some pesticide provisions in the farm bill have created a separate rift. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has an amendment to strip the three pesticide provisions from the bill.

Luna later posted on X, making claims against other Republican lawmakers.

"I have now been accosted by two Republican members of Congress for trying to remove pesticide liability protections. Both of which claim to be 'God-fearing' Christians, but are shilling for cancer-causing pesticide companies," Luna posted on X. "Yikes. One even claims to be pro-life, but is cool with pesticides killing kids."

Responding to the delays and complications, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, commented that the Republican divisions also reflect the lack of bipartisanship on the farm bill. Democrats are less likely to support the bill on the floor because of the $187 billion cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in last year's budget reconciliation package. An amendment introduced by Democrats to repeal those SNAP cuts was not included in the package approved by the Rules Committee.

"This is what happens when a partisan majority tries to push through a deeply flawed farm bill that falls short of addressing the largest problems facing farmers and working people. House Democrats would happily support a farm bill that restores food assistance, ends Trump's inflationary tariffs and provides a lifeline to family farmers struggling to make it to next season," Craig said.

Adding to the fight, the House Rules Committee rejected an amendment by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., over California's Proposition 12 and similar livestock laws. The farm bill includes language that would block states from setting standards that would prevent the sale of commodity products approved by the federal government.

The National Pork Producers Council credited the chairs of the Rules and Agriculture committees for not supporting Costa's amendment.

"We will continue to fight for our freedom to farm, and we urge the full House to support the Farm Bill 2.0," said Rob Brenneman, an Iowa pork producer and current NPPC president.

AMENDMENTS TO THE BILL

The House Rules Committee approved 57 separate amendments for debate -- once the farm bill reaches the floor.

Here's a breakdown of some provisions:

Luna's amendments would strike some of the pesticide provisions that assert only EPA can require warning labels for pesticides, and block states and localities from imposing restrictions on "the sale, distribution, labeling, application or use" of pesticides approved by EPA.

Lawmakers are also pressing more to spell out what people can buy with SNAP funds. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., and others have an amendment that would add hot rotisserie chicken as an eligible item nationwide. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders received a USDA waiver last year to begin allowing rotisserie chickens for SNAP. Other lawmakers have a separate amendment to restrict soda and other sugary beverages from SNAP nationwide. Several GOP states have been granted waivers in the past year by USDA to prevent SNAP purchases of soda.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., would repeal and prohibit the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) from mandating electronic identification tags for cattle and bison. Currently, APHIS requires breeding animals, and all dairy cattle, to have electronic tags when moving across state lines.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., wants to repeal the transfer of Food for Peace from the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to USDA, "and move the authority for the administration of Food for Peace to the president." The Trump administration proposed in FY 2027 to zero out the budget for Food for Peace, but the House Appropriations Committee has budgeted it at $900 million for next year.

Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., has an amendment that would allow for continuous enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) program.

Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., has an amendment that would require USDA to submit a report on feasibility of storage facility loans for producers to build fertilizer storage.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., has an amendment that would remove all emission mandates for farm equipment. This issue has been drawing more attention tied to diesel emission fluid (DEF) and problems with farm machinery repairs.

Spartz also has an amendment that would require more transparency of federally mandated checkoff boards.

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, has a provision that would broaden the Renewable Fuel Standard's definition of "renewable biomass" to include low-value forest materials and mill residuals, making them eligible for renewable fuel credits, while also permitting biomass sourcing from federal and tribal lands and supporting vegetation removal in wildfire-risk areas.

Arizona lawmakers want USDA to revise its standards for confirming livestock predations by Mexican wolves.

Also see, "House Rules Debate on Farm Bill Begins with Focus on Pesticide Provision,"

https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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