Debates over SNAP and Debt Ceiling cause further delays. PC K2 reaching a national consensus.

The Senate and House Agriculture committees are weeks or even months away from drafting the 2023 farm bill, a remarkably late start for what is always a detailed and time-consuming process. The new farm bill would be the most expensive ever and is likely to be completed after the Sept. 30 expiration of the current farm law, if recent history is a guide. Neither of the committees has set a timeline for assembling the broad-spectrum legislation. SNAP could be a sticking point, notwithstanding arguments that the debt ceiling bill, enacted over the weekend, was the last word on work requirements. "Budget issues are part of the story," said Pat Westhoff, director of the FAPRI think tank, pointing to the lengthy negotiations over the debt ceiling. In addition, the CBO updated its in mid-May, marginally increasing the farm bill baseline to roughly $1.5 trillion. "The debt limit debate and the delayed CBO scoring created a lot of uncertainty that may have discouraged parties from putting forward concrete proposals," said Westhoff. "At least some of that uncertainty has been resolved but I'm not sure there is consensus even now about what the budget target for the bill as a whole should be, let alone the targets for particular titles of the bill." The 2014 and 2018 farm bills were completed behind schedule, with food stamps as the major hurdle each time. The 2018 midterm elections effectively ended the standoff over Republican-proposed SNAP cuts, with Democrats gaining control of the House. President Trump signed the bill into law on Dec. 20, 2018. three months after the nominal expiration date of the 2014 farm law. The 2008 farm bill was supposed to be replaced in fall 2012 but Congress fought over food stamps until early 2014.