Members of the US House of Representatives will vote on Friday on the proposed new Farm Bill, a sweeping piece of legislation which sets out the agriculture and food policy of the United States for the next five years (2019-2023).

The most recent US Farm Bill had a total budget of $489bn (€415bn). In comparison, the EU’s proposed budget for the next phase of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is set at €365bn.

Traditionally, the Farm Bill has received bipartisan support from both Republican and Democrat members of the House of Representatives, which is the lower house of the US Congress that meets in Capitol Hill in Washington DC.

However, the 2018 Farm Bill has proved much more contentious between Republicans and Democrats over a number issues including reform of the US sugar industry, food stamps and immigration.

The 193 Democrats in the House of Representatives have said they will vote against the new Farm Bill, meaning the 235 Republican members will have to rely on their majority to pass the bill.

Contentious

However, contentious issues around the new bill mean it is unclear if Republicans have support within their own ranks to pass it.

A proposed amendment to the bill to reform the US sugar industry, which is highly protectionist and fixes prices for producers, has generated heated debate between Republican members seeking reform and those from large sugar-producing states. The sugar reform amendment was defeated comfortably on Thursday, which should ease the passage of the bill on Friday’s vote.

Other contentious issues remain. The food stamp programme, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is by far the largest drain on the $489bn (€415bn) budget of the US Farm Bill, accounting for 80% of all funding.

The new Farm Bill is proposing stricter rules on who can qualify for the SNAP programme, which provides an average of $125 per month in grocery money to more than 40m Americans. For Democrats and moderate leaning Republicans, a tightening up of the SNAP programme is a non-runner.

Immigration reform

The other major stumbling block for this new Farm Bill is immigration reform. Conservative Republicans are threatening to hold the Farm Bill to ransom in a bid to push through a separate bill that will clamp down on immigration into the US.

The new Farm Bill is set to go before the 435 members of the US House of Representatives on Friday afternoon with the outcome of the vote still in the balance.

However, it is important to note that even if the Farm Bill passes the vote in the House of Representatives it has little chance of becoming law in its current form. In the Senate, the upper house of the US Congress, members are also working on changes to a new Farm Bill.

After the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed proposals for the new Farm Bill, both houses will then have to come to begin negotiations for a final compromise that will go to President Trump to be signed as the new US Farm Bill up to 2023.

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