WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Congress has multiple priorities to help farmers -- year-round E15, a full farm bill, and $15 billion in direct aid -- but lawmakers still lack a clear path to pass any of it despite bipartisan support and backing from key leaders.

Members of the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) organization met on Tuesday with the chair and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, along with two senior members of the House Agriculture Committee.

The four lawmakers' comments reflected strong bipartisan support for aiding farmers but little consensus on how to move key legislative priorities forward.

The lion's share of the commodity title, funding for conservation and crop insurance were cleared in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer.

At the same time, the credit title, rural development and other USDA programs are operating on the latest extension passed by Congress. Credit, in particular, is seen as an area ripe for expansion to help farmers manage financial stress, but passing a full farm bill remains uncertain.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., stressed that the farm bill takes 60 votes to pass the Senate, and House Republicans operate with a slim majority.

"There's no path forward on the farm bill if it is not bipartisan."

With midterm elections ahead, Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said lawmakers "need to clear the deck" and pass a full farm bill. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., also is term limited, so he would not hold the gavel even if Republicans hold onto the House. Lucas said he would like to be considered for the top GOP spot next year on the committee, but he also said he does not want to restart the farm bill process from scratch.

"We need for this to be done so we can move on," Lucas said.

Despite support from President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the narrow majorities in both chambers make it difficult to get legislation passed right now, Lucas said.

"That's the more complicated part. Nobody is in absolute control of the body, right?" Lucas said.

Lucas said Congress could end up with multiple budget reconciliation bills this year, which can pass with a simple majority in the Senate. The farm bill could come at the very end of the calendar year with Congress trying to pass a "giant" continuing resolution spending bill at the same time. "That's where we go; get ready for reconciliation," Lucas said.

Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, vice ranking member of the House Ag Committee, represents urban areas of Cleveland, but she has become increasingly more educated on agricultural policy through more trips to farms, she said.

"It's my belief America's farmers and ranchers are under real strain, and that strain is growing," Brown added.

Beyond the tariffs, trade wars and input costs, Brown said farmers also face broader pressures similar to other American families.

"I cannot tell you how much health care comes up when I am talking to farmers," Brown said.

Brown also pointed to a package of proposals offered by Democrats to support farmers, which included up to $18 billion in aid. She called on Congress, farm groups and nutrition advocates to "rebuild the farm bill coalition" and reject partisan approaches.

Talking about the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, Brown said a lot of the issues around healthy foods and nutrition have been a focus for Democrats. She tied that into some of the challenges facing lower-income people trying to access healthier foods.

"Urban agriculture is going to become critically important as food deserts continue to grow," Brown said.

ECONOMIC AID PROSPECTS

When it comes to direct aid, Boozman said he has been working on a $15 billion aid plan with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who chairs the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. Boozman said farmers are facing a "generational situation" and added, "We are working to provide additional financial support for producers."

Boozman said he sees an opportunity to include aid for farmers in a supplemental spending bill that will deal with the Defense budget as well as economic losses from California wildfires, North Carolina hurricanes and possibly winter damage to Florida sugar crops. At the same time, Boozman said there is less time for lawmakers to act because of the midterm elections.

"When you look at the calendar going forward, there's not much time left."

Still, Boozman said a supplemental spending bill could move quickly. USDA already has a template in place to distribute economic aid that could more quickly provide aid to farmers once a bill passes. He said such a package could be critical for helping farmers work with their lenders.

"So much stuff in agriculture is based on credit. The lenders, just knowing that money would be available, will be very, very helpful to them," Boozman said.

CONCERNS FOR SENATE DEMOCRATS

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said she and Boozman continue to work together, but the two are split about trying to change some of the punitive rules for states and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

"One of the things that is going to be really important to the Democrats on the committee is the SNAP issue," Klobuchar said.

The OBBBA forces states to pay higher administrative costs and lose reimbursements based on SNAP error rates. At the same time, the bill gave longer exemptions for states that have the highest error rates, which Klobuchar maintains is unfair.

"It's a ridiculous situation because those states have higher error rates," she said.

Boozman told reporters he has no plans to change any of the SNAP provisions from the OBBBA.

FERTILIZER, CROP ISSUES

Talking about his own livestock and farming operation in Oklahoma, Lucas said his wheat crop is too poor and fertilizer prices are too high for him to add more inputs to the crop this year.

"I didn't buy any fertilizer to top dress the wheat," Lucas said. He described the state of the winter wheat crop in his area, "It's just going to be a weather-driven bust."

Lucas later added, "Come summer, I have to fertilize my improved pastures ... and I'm not sure what that's going to cost."

Klobuchar said she held a roundtable with farmers last week in Minnesota to discuss her legislation, the "Fertilizer Transparency Act," which would require USDA to post weekly fertilizer prices. She said publicly publishing fertilizer prices would put companies on notice. She also suggested a new grant program to help expand fertilizer production.

Asked about the Trump administration's attacks on fertilizer companies, Klobuchar said industry consolidation is a problem, but said the administration is also deflecting from the supply chain problems caused by the war in Iran.

"I think it's legitimate, but we all know what caused this latest spike, and it's the closure of the Strait of Hormuz," Klobuchar said.

Now more Republicans want a vote on war powers before they provide the Trump administration with a larger Defense budget, she said, due to the impacts on the economy.

"The economic costs of this were just something they didn't seem to calculate in," Klobuchar said.

E15 POSSIBILITIES

President Trump continues to support E15, and his administration has already signed a waiver for this summer. Still, the uncertainty over E15 policy remains, with the fuel now in its eighth year of EPA granting a waiver for summer driving rather than a permanent fix.

Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, told reporters on Monday that biofuel advocates are now looking for any legislative vehicle to which they could attach E15, whether it is the farm bill or a supplemental spending bill.

"Our focus right now is making sure that anything moving forward includes E15," Skor said.

Lucas noted Oklahoma is both a corn-deficit state and an oil-and-gas state. Livestock feeders "Are not too excited about E15; the oil and gas guys are not excited," he said.

Still, Lucas said he expects E15 will end up in some form of must-pass legislation this year.

"My gut feel is my corn friends will get what they want. It's just a question of what bill it comes in."

Klobuchar and Boozman suggested there could be a pathway to include E15 in the Senate version of a farm bill even though biofuels don't fall under their jurisdiction.

"Putting the E15 standard in the farm bill would be good," Klobuchar said.

Asked about E15, Boozman suggested it could go into the farm bill. "We're totally committed to getting that done," he said.

At the same time, there are jurisdictional hurdles with the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee that remain unresolved. "So far, we haven't been able to do that."

Brown described the E15 bill as "critical" for helping farmers, saying, "There's a lot of bipartisan agreement."

Also see "Deputy Ag Secretary Questions Fertilizer Giant Mosaic Cutting Production" here:

https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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