On Thursday, January 22, the House of Representatives managed to pass the last sweep of annual appropriations bills for Labor-Health and Human Services (LHHS), Transportation-Housing-Urban Development-Education (THUD), Defense, and Homeland Security well ahead of the January 30 funding deadline. This feat seemed unlikely earlier in the week, given the recent controversy surrounding the Homeland bill and its jurisdiction to fund the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency. Lawmakers were able to split up the minibus package and advance the Homeland spending bill individually by a narrow margin of 220-207. Following that vote, the House voted to pass the more bipartisan spending measure that included LHHS, THUD, and Defense by a 341-88 vote.

This comes after the House passed and sent to the Senate another two-bill minibus, including FY26 funding for the Financial Services-General Government and National Security-Department of State (previously known as Department of State-Foreign Operations-Related Programs or SFOPS) on January 15. Once the Senate returns from recess next week, it is expected to take up and consider the six remaining annual appropriation measures in hopes of clearing and sending them to the President’s desk for final approval before the impending January 30 deadline.

At the time of this writing, both congressional chambers have passed six final appropriations bills — including those for Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Mil-Con VA, CJS, Interior, and Energy-Water. The other six FY26 appropriations bills mentioned above still remain funded under the current continuing resolution (CR) that is set to expire at the end of this month.

Senate Ag members lead bipartisan letter calling on USDA to restore prevented planting coverage. On Thursday, January 22, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) alongside Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and senior member John Hoeven (R-ND) orchestrated a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins calling for the Department to reinstate crop insurance coverage for acres prevented from being planted. This comes after the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) published a rule in November 2025 that eliminated the option for producers to purchase additional buy-up coverage for prevented planting. The letter was signed by a handful of other Senate Ag Committee members, including: Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Justice (R-WV), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Tina Smith (D-MN). You can find the letter sent to USDA here.

Supreme Court to review Monsanto Company v. Durnell

Last Friday, January 16, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Monsanto Company v. Durnell, which could decide the future of glyphosate-based weedkillers. Because the Court has scheduled oral arguments for April 2026, we expect a final ruling before the Court’s summer recess in June.

The central issue is preemption. The decision may determine whether companies must warn consumers about cancer risks on product labels when the EPA has found that such risks are false. If the Court rules in favor of Monsanto, it will likely solidify the availability of glyphosate products without new, conflicting state warning labels. If the Court rules against Monsanto, manufacturers may face a patchwork of state labeling laws.

The EPA has repeatedly reviewed glyphosate and determined it is not likely to cause cancer in humans. Consequently, the EPA prohibits companies from adding cancer warning labels to products like Roundup. Juries in states like Missouri and California have awarded millions of dollars to plaintiffs who claim Roundup causes cancer, resulting from Monsanto’s failure to warn them of the risk. Monsanto argues that it cannot follow both rules at once. It cannot comply with state laws requiring a cancer warning while simultaneously complying with federal laws forbidding that same warning.

Senate Ag leadership calls for expanded farm assistance

Last Friday, January 16, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman and Ag Committee Member John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced a joint proposal calling for expanded farm assistance for struggling producers. This comes after a letter led by

the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) with over 55 signatories representing various national agricultural organizations (including US Rice Producers Association), urging Congress to deliver additional economic assistance for producers as the U.S. agricultural sector faces increased economic pressures. The proposal is centered around building on top of the already existing Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program currently being administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Key components listed in the proposal include:

• Expanded coverage for the FBA program
• Additional assistance for losses that exceed national averages
• Expanded support for specialty crop producers
• Assistance for sugar beet and cane growers
• Increased Farm Ownership and Operating Loan Limits

You can find the press release from the Senate Agriculture Committee here.