Costa Statement on House Passage of the Farm Bill 2026

WASHINGTON - Following House passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026  (H.R.7567), commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) released the following statement:
 
“Food security is national security, and the Farm Bill is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation Congress works on because it determines how we put food on America’s dinner tables,” said Rep. Costa.“After three years of delays, I’m glad the House has finally made substantive progress but there is still more work to do. We must ensure the provisions that support American families, farmers, and producers remain while continuing to improve this bill in the Senate. I will keep working across the aisle to reverse harmful cuts to nutrition programs because in the richest country in the world, children, veterans, seniors, and working families should never be left wondering how they will put food on the table.” 

Rep. Costa secured several priorities in the Farm Bill, including bills he introduced and provisions he supported, such as: 

• Secured major investments for specialty crops, with the bill including at least $30 million for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (H.R. 4173)and $20 million for mechanization and automation research for specialty crops.
• Backed stronger trade programs, including Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops, to help California farmers recover from tariffs, overcome trade barriers, and compete globally and doubling funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program (H.R. 1086).
• Secured inclusion of the COWS Act (H.R. 5875), which will help dairies make practical conservation upgrades on their operations and support manure management practices modeled after California’s successful program. It helps farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and makes it easier to adopt precision agriculture technology by covering up to 90 percent of the startup cost.
• Secured inclusion of the Dairy Nutrition Incentives Program (H.R. 2496), which will help SNAP recipients afford and purchase more nutritious dairy products and strengthen support for dairy and livestock producers by keeping key safety net programs in place, extending dairy promotion and indemnity programs through 2031, and improving how dairy costs are reported.
• Secured inclusion of the Headwaters Protection Act (H.R. 605), which will strengthen watershed partnerships between agricultural producers, local communities, and the U.S. Forest Service to protect critical water sources.  

Rep. Costa continues to seek changes to protect SNAP and Prop 12.

The bill now moves to the Senate.