The U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 14 voted 336 to 95 to approve a temporary spending bill to avert a government shutdown. The stopgap bill includes a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill. 

The Farm Bill is a package of legislation that is normally passed every five years. It covers a wide range of programs, including crop insurance, nutrition programs and programs that support bioenergy initiatives. Programs listed under the Energy Title of the 2018 Farm Bill include the Biobased Markets Program; the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Products Manufacturing Assistance Program; the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels; the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program; the Rural Energy for America Program; the Biomass Research and Development Program; the Feedstock Flexibility Program; the Biomass Crop Assistance Program; the Community wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program; and the Carbon Utilization and Biogas Education Program. 

The 2018 Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2023. The extension included in the stopgap funding bill would remain in place through Sept. 30, 2024. 

Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees on Nov. 12 issued a statement in support of the Farm Bill extension. “As negotiations on funding the government progress, we were able to come together to avoid a lapse in funding for critical agricultural programs and provide certainty to producers. This extension is in no way a substitute for passing a 5-year Farm Bill and we remain committed to working together to get it done next year,” said Sens. Debie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John Boozman, R-Ark., and Reps. Genn Thompson, R-Pa., and David Scott, D-Ga., the four leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, in statement released Nov. 12.

Without Congressional action, a government shutdown will begin Nov. 17. The U.S. Senate is expected to pass the bill as soon as possible.  A full copy of the bill, H.R. 6363 – Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extension Act of 2024, is available on the House Committee on Rules website.