Klobuchar-led Democrats defeat latest farm bill proposal over SNAP cost shift

Christopher Vondracek, Star Tribune on Aug 6, 2026

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The U.S. Senate’s push to fast track the farm bill fizzled Thursday after Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other Democrats opposed a committee draft that would leave Minnesota counties with millions of dollars in new SNAP costs.

Last year’s cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, included a cost shift to states. But in states like Minnesota that rely on county administration to run the program, the shift will add millions in costs that could only be covered through property tax increases, officials have said.

Klobuchar, the ranking Democrat on the committee who is also running for governor of Minnesota, said the cost shift amounted to 10% of the $187 billion in SNAP cuts.

“It is impossible for us to believe that we can’t — when $70 billion has been requested for the war in Iran and another $70 billion was added to ICE — that we can’t find a way to (delay the SNAP cost shift) this extra year,” she said in her opening statement.

SNAP and other nutrition programs are only one part of the $390 billion farm bill, which is the main federal funding roadmap that covers everything from crop insurance and research grants to rural housing initiatives.

A full farm bill has not been passed by Congress since 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term. The outdated funding levels leave organizations and producers anxious about thinning margins for programs to defray costs to plant cover crops or rely on for housing subsidies.

Klobuchar’s opposition to the SNAP funding scheme dates back to passage of the Big Beautiful Bill when — to secure passage of the measure — the GOP gave carveouts to Republican members related to error rates.

SNAP error rates measure how effectively program administrators are meting out benefits to recipients. Under current law, states with higher error rates than Minnesota’s rate actually retain federal funding. In a statement Friday, Klobuchar has called for the “same footing” for all states as a must-have fix as the Senate continues to move toward passage of a Farm Bill before year’s end.

Democrats said states needed more time to figure out how to change the mechanics of the program or fund the cost shifts.

While Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the agriculture committee chair, acknowledged the SNAP cost-shifting issue Thursday, and that his bill included a one-year delay, he did not push for the two-year delay Democrats wanted. With only a one-vote advantage for Republicans — and Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., still out for health reasons and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., stepping out of the chamber — the final vote failed along party lines.

After the vote, Klobuchar — who spent Wednesday meeting with the agriculture community and fellow politicians in the state at Farmfest — said she is committed to working with Boozman to get the bill passed. Boozman said he would bring the bill back for another vote in September.

Thursday’s vote is another setback for farmers, who at Farmfest said they were cautiously optimistic the Senate committee would move the bill forward.

Minnesota Farm Bureau President Dan Glessing, a Wright County crop and dairy farmer, said the vote “is a disappointment.”

“The bill included several provisions our members advocated for, including year-round E-15, but not moving it forward today sets up farmers for continued unpredictability,” he said. “This has been a priority for our members for over three years, and to see it pushed down the road again is frustrating.”

The much-anticipated omnibus bill as written would legalize year-round E-15 and spend up to $1.4 trillion on farm and rural programs over the next 10 years.

“I’m deeply disappointed Democrats on the Ag Committee voted against advancing a farm bill,” Boozman said on X after the vote. “We have a responsibility to stand with America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities.”

Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association Executive Director Brian Werner said in a statement that the failed vote Thursday was a “missed opportunity for drivers, farmers, fuel retailers and rural communities that need certainty.”