House Passes 2026 Farm Bill

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 (also known as the Farm Bill) by a vote of 224-200.

Several provisions supported by NACS were included in the Farm Bill that make much-needed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill includes a permanent ban on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) processing fees, a top NACS priority since the 2018 Farm Bill established a temporary prohibition on EBT processing fees. The legislation also includes a provision that would make the SNAP online purchasing pilot permanent and another that directs USDA to begin a nationwide transition to EBT chip cards to combat EBT skimming and SNAP benefit theft.

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) offered an amendment to the Farm Bill that would have banned SNAP benefits from being used to purchase soda nationwide. NACS led a letter signed by the National Grocers Association; NATSO, Representing America's Travel Centers and Truck Stops; SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers; and the Energy Marketers of America, urging Congress to vote no on any amendment that would implement nationwide SNAP restrictions.

The associations wrote that adoption would disrupt the restriction studies currently taking place in 22 states and create significant confusion for customers and retailers. In a win for SNAP retailers nationwide, the Self amendment was ultimately voted down on the House floor.

NACS has also long championed the Hot Foods Act, which was offered as a bipartisan amendment to the Farm Bill by Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Jahana Hayes (D-CT).

The legislation would permanently allow hot foods to be purchased with SNAP, and NACS led a letter signed by 44 national, regional and state associations and organizations urging Congress to support the amendment’s adoption. However, the amendment was ruled out of order and ultimately did not receive a floor vote. Separately, a narrower amendment led by Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) passed on the House floor, permitting SNAP purchases of hot rotisserie chicken only.

Initially offered as an amendment by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), provisions to allow year-round E15 sales and to reform the Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) program were ultimately removed into a standalone bill, H.R. 1346. Following intense negotiations between Midwestern delegations and Congressional leadership, that bill is now expected to have a vote on May 13 when the House returns from recess. NACS joined a coalition letter advocating for passage of these provisions, signed by a broad cross-section of agricultural, biofuel, petroleum and retail interests.

Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Andy Barr (R-KY) each offered separate amendments to attempt to forestall the November deadline for banning nearly all non-industrial hemp-derived products on the market today. Barr’s amendment would have established a fairly comprehensive regulatory and licensure structure to allow such products to remain on the market. He ultimately chose to withdraw that amendment to continue to work on developing it and growing additional support.

Rep. Comer’s amendment would have delayed the deadline by one year to November 2027 which would allow for more time to develop a proper regulatory and licensure structure. Unfortunately, that amendment was not made in order by the Rules Committee.

The Farm Bill now heads to the Senate, where NACS will continue to advocate for its priorities.

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