The Senate today passed the budget reconciliation bill titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The vote was 50 to 50, with Vice President Vance providing the 51st vote to pass the bill.
The bill now moves to the House, which passed an earlier version of it that the Senate changed. President Trump has urged Congress to pass the bill before Friday, July 4, but it will be controversial in the House.
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives President and CEO Chuck Conner applauded the action, saying the bill “includes essential provisions that strengthen the rural economy, bolster global competitiveness, and lay the groundwork for long-term resilience in the face of market disruptions.
“We commend the Senate for advancing permanent tax relief through the extension of Section 199A, a key priority for farmer co-ops that ensures they are not penalized for doing business together. Equally important are the provisions extending Section 179 expensing and the clean fuel production credit under Section 45Z, which provide producers and co-ops with the incentives and tools they need to innovate, invest, and lead the transition to a more sustainable agricultural future.
“We also appreciate the Senate’s attention to the needs of production agriculture by updating reference prices and commodity title support to reflect today’s economic realities. Combined with a significant increase in funding for market development programs, these provisions will help producers reach new markets and stay competitive amid global uncertainty.”
But Taxpayers for Common Sense, a conservative group, said, “Congress has officially lost its mind when it comes to fiscal responsibility. The Senate’s reconciliation bill is a textbook example of how to undermine America’s economic and fiscal stability while pretending to help taxpayers. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a really ugly, scary, ticking debt bomb.”
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the bill “provides strong support for the nation’s farmers and ranchers, and improves the farm-safety net to meet today’s markets and input costs by:
- “Increasing reference prices for ARC and PLC by 10% to 20% (specific increase varies by commodity).
- Providing built-in future reference price increases with an inflation adjuster and improved price escalator formula to prevent reference prices from becoming outdated when market and input costs change.
- New safety net begins right away – producers can receive the higher of the ARC or PLC payment for this crop year, 2025, with the new updated reference prices. North Dakota farmers will see tens of millions of dollars in relief in 2025 alone thanks to these updates.
- Includes key provisions of Hoeven’s FARMER Act to strengthen and expand access to affordable crop insurance
- Increases premium support for individual-based coverage across nearly all levels – starting at 55% – by an additional 3%-5%.
- Enhances the Supplemental Coverage Option by raising the coverage level from 86% to 90%, and boosts premium support from 65% to 80%.
- Extends the sugar program through 2031, while increasing the sugar loan rate to meet current market conditions.
- Improves livestock disaster programs.
- Sets Livestock Indemnity Program payments at 100% of market value for losses from federally protected predators and 75% for weather and disease losses.
- Improves the Livestock Forage Program to provide one monthly payment to eligible producers with grazing land in counties rated D2 (severe drought) for at least four consecutive weeks and two payments if D2 persists during any seven of eight consecutive weeks within the normal grazing period.”
But National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Policy Director Mike Lavender said, “NSAC is deeply disappointed that the Senate has voted to approve a reconciliation bill that ignores the needs of the vast majority of American farmers and the communities they call home while providing billions for programs that only benefit a select few, all at the expense of programs that support nutrition access for hungry people. By excluding farm loans, rural development, new market opportunities, research, and more, the Senate bill chooses to take a narrow view of agriculture.”
Overnight, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, decided not to offer his payment limits amendment, Politico reported. Grassley reached a deal with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., for a payment limits measure to be brought up during the debate on the proposed “skinny” farm bill to cover the programs that have not received additional funding in the reconciliation bill.
Also overnight, the Senate rejected an amendment offered by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to provide more funding for rural hospitals by increasing taxes on high earners.
The Senate debate has been marked by a new round of conflict between Elon Musk, the Tesla founder and former White House aide, and Trump.
Musk threatened to campaign against any Republicans who vote for the bill. Today, Trump said Musk is upset about the loss of tax breaks for electronic vehicles and suggested that the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk started, should come back and “eat” Musk, who gets subsidies and contracts for his various companies.
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