Ag Committee Member Says Farm Bill 2.0 Proposal Misses Opportunities

By Jared White

Brownfield

A farm bill of missed opportunities. 

Illinois Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, a Democratic member of the House Ag Committee, says there were several reasons she voted against the Farm Bill 2.0 proposal that recently passed out of committee.

“We’re hearing indications that the Senate might be looking to take out some of the more poison pills on it.”  She says, “I think they went way too far on pesticides.  The fact that they completely ignored any of the cuts to SNAP.  There were a lot of missed opportunities.

She tells Brownfield that pesticides are vital to modern agriculture, but “They wanted to do preemption at the federal level for an expansion of about 50 different pesticides, which just prevents states, if there are any direct negative health impacts, from being able to make sure that there is accountability,” she says.

Budzinski says farmers need the certainty of a new five-year farm bill, but she isn’t optimistic about the package in its current form.

“I think through further negotiation, I’m hoping we can get to a better bill than I can support,” she says.

Budzinski spoke with Brownfield and other reporters at the 2026 iFAB Biomanufacturing Summit in Champaign.