By: Tim Carpenter
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The three Republicans and one Democrat representing Kansas in the U.S. House voted Thursday for a five-year farm bill expanding federal subsidies to crop producers and reducing food aid programs for low-income families.
The legislation advanced 224-200 with support of U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann of the 1st District, Derek Schmidt of the 2nd District, Sharice Davids of the 3rd District and Ron Estes of the 4th District. It was forwarded to the GOP-led U.S. Senate, where it would require an alliance with Democrats to pass.
Davids, among 14 House Democrats to vote for the bill, said Kansas farmers sought financial certainty from Congress during a period of low crop prices, high energy and fertilizer costs and export markets fractured by President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.
“Kansas farmers and families have been hit over and over again this past year — from unstable markets to rising input costs and the ripple effects of reckless tariffs,” Davids said. “What they need most right now is stability, not uncertainty. This bipartisan farm bill moves us toward more predictability for producers, lower costs for everyone and a system that actually works for the people feeding and fueling this country.”
Most House Democrats opposed the bill because it sustained $187 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The measure included a $60 billion increase in farm subsidies.
“We still have work to do to ensure no family goes hungry, but this is a step toward giving farmers and families the certainty they deserve,” Davids said.
Davids said the bill included provisions she championed to require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to perform research on winter wheat as a cover crop and to mandate Native American tribes have access to USDA agricultural programs under the same terms as states.
Schmidt, who serves an eastern Kansas district outside the Kansas City area, said the legislation included a provision he sought to direct the USDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate research on domestic production of crops used in natural food colorings.
Mann, who represents the large 1st District, said bill completed “overdue” reauthorization of key programs for conservation, rural development, research, trade, energy and specialty crops, he said.
“I am especially proud that this bill includes my legislation to permanently move the Kansas-born Food for Peace program to USDA, its rightful home, ensuring American-grown commodities remain the focus of the program and increasing accountability of taxpayer dollars,” Mann said.