Congressman Bentz Applauds House Passage of the Farm Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.–  Last Thursday, the House passed the Farm Bill, H.R. 7567, the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026”. This bill helps secure America’s food supply, provides a safety net for farming operations in the form of crop insurance and commodity programs, and funds nutrition initiatives like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The bill helps farmers stay in business when weather, markets, supply chains, and other hazards threaten to drive them out of business. Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-OR) was the only member of Oregon’s federal House delegation to vote YES to advance this bill to the Senate.

This farm bill contains provisions that are critical for Oregon. It strengthens wildfire mitigation and forest health programs, expands hazardous fuels reduction activities, and improves Oregon’s ability to partner with federal agencies on forest management projects (“Good Neighbor Authority”). It increases funding for watershed restoration, postfire recovery, and habitat improvement across Oregon’s mixed public and private landscapes. The bill also increases support for specialty crops such as onions, potatoes, and beans (“pulses”), expands disaster assistance for orchardists and nursery growers, and includes investments in rural broadband (the “USDA ReConnect Program”), water systems, and telemedicine, all focused on Oregon’s rural communities. For grape producers, the bill contains several provisions that are intended to focus on wine exports rather than encouraging imports. It doubles the funding for the “Market Access Program” and the Foreign Market Development Program to help domestic producers compete globally. For cherry producers, the bill includes a “tree assistance program, a new emergency assistance framework to help cherry producers, the doubling of funding for the Market access program mentioned above, crop insurance improvements, and 30 million for specialty crop research.

Of the 214 Democrats, only 14 voted for the Farm Bill. Many Democrats opposed it because they did not support the SNAP eligibility verification process or the SNAP work requirement. In Oregon, the work requirement is that an able-bodied person who doesn’t have a child under 14, who wants SNAP benefits, must work or volunteer for about 38 hours a month or about ten hours a week. Congressman Bentz has rejected Democrat claims that this bill “cuts” SNAP, noting that the benefits remain available. Still, the recipients, if able-bodied without a child under 14, must work as a volunteer…again for about 9 hours a week. This work-or-volunteer requirement to qualify for such benefits is supported by about 80% of those polled on the question.

It should be noted that the bill expands access in the SNAP program to certain hot foods; includes administrative changes intended to simplify access for certain seniors and eligible students; and authorizes $200 million in funding to connect local farmers with community food distribution organizations.

Congressman Bentz noted that Oregon continues to face high demand for workers across agriculture, forestry, food processing, and rural service industries, yet many able-bodied adults remain outside the workforce. Hopefully, this SNAP work requirement will prompt those who have not been working to look for employment.

Farmers, their families, and the businesses they have held together for generations are enduring one of the worst crop market years in recent memory. As the only Oregon House member to vote for this bill, Congressman Bentz recognizes that everything that can be done to help our farmers must be done. This bill will help, and help is truly needed. Why the other five members of Oregon’s delegation turned their backs on farmers and the rural communities they represent is up to them to explain.  

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