Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) ongoing absence from the Capitol is threatening to derail Senate Republicans’ hopes of advancing a long-awaited farm bill before the August recess.
Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) has promised a committee markup within the four weeks before lawmakers leave Washington, but attendance concerns and a narrow window to advance legislation are raising doubts about that timeline.
McConnell’s weekslong hospitalization presents a unique challenge for Boozman’s plans: Republicans won’t have enough votes without McConnell to advance the legislation out of committee along party lines, and Democrats have vowed to oppose the bill because it does not include their top policy demands.
“We’re concerned about Senator McConnell, and so hopefully that will be such that he can participate in the markup,” Boozman said Tuesday, adding that he was still “working on” scheduling the committee’s markup.
McConnell has been hospitalized for nearly a month after falling and suffering from what he described as a mild case of pneumonia. In a statement released Sunday, McConnell said that he will return to the Senate after his recovery but did not specify when that could occur.
Senate Republicans are also dealing with scheduling limits due to a packed policy agenda that leaders have lined up for the next four weeks.
“McConnell’s vote is needed, but that is not the only reason we haven’t scheduled a markup,” said one person close to the conversations, who was granted anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes talks.
Negotiations are also still ongoing to find a bipartisan path forward for the legislation that Boozman released in June, and Republicans have billed the package as a necessary group of policy updates that could help shore up rural support ahead of November’s midterms.
The chair’s proposal rejects Democrat demands that the package delay the start date for states to begin sharing the cost of providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Democrats have said they won’t vote for a farm bill that doesn’t push the implementation date.
Boozman told POLITICO on Tuesday that he’s “trying to see if we need to modify” the bill to include Democrats’ SNAP cost-share delay and talking to state officials and Senate leadership about the potential change.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating an agriculture priority that industry groups have lobbied for: as much as $20 billion in economic aid for farmers that could be passed through Republicans’ reconciliation package.
Boozman has been a key player in the negotiations and has looked to include the financial support in a military supplemental package the White House has requested from Congress. The aid has become a top priority of the agriculture industry as farmers grapple with trade uncertainty, severe weather, high production costs and other challenges.
He said Tuesday that he’d support putting the aid in any moving vehicle, whether that’s a supplemental package or reconciliation bill.
“The farmers need this help yesterday,” Boozman said.
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