Committee forwards amended H.F. 1704 (DE3) to Ways and Means after debate over priorities and federal cuts; roll calls 7-6

The Committee on Agriculture Finance and Policy on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 voted to re-refer House File 1704, DE3, as amended, to the Committee on Ways and Means after adopting several amendments and an extended member discussion about funding priorities, federal cuts and program trade-offs. Chair Anderson moved the bill and led the amendment discussion.

Committee members adopted amendments to the DE3 package in sequence. Representative Anderson described the A1 amendment as technical and said it "reinserts a language that goes back to last year's bill that gives priority to those that have annual sales under 100,000 and produce certain specialty crops." He described the A4 amendment as a technical cleanup related to the Forever Green initiative and said the A5 amendment "adds an eligible use to the AGRI grant program" to allow incentives for production of a PFAS alternative derived from agricultural pulp; he said there was no spending in that amendment. The A2 amendment reinstated the word "advanced" for a biofuel production incentive program and, per the author, had been heard previously.

The A3 amendment drew the most sustained opposition. Representative Smith requested a roll call and argued the amendment "continues the main problem we had with this bill" by reducing a training requirement that she said would make the industry "less safe." Representative Smith urged members to vote no on the amendment, saying the 10-hour requirement rolled the prior 40-hour safety training back and that the subject belonged in workforce or labor committees rather than agriculture. Representative Anderson said broadband provisions are under this committee's jurisdiction and defended including the language. A roll-call vote on the A3 amendment recorded seven ayes and six nays and the amendment was adopted.

The committee then discussed the DE3 amendment as amended. Several members framed the debate around recent federal funding reductions. Representative Anderson said the Department of Agriculture had notified the committee it would lose about "$18,000,000" from multiple federal programs and said "this bill increases Ag Funding by $17,000,000 from the base." Representative Smith and Representative Hansen repeatedly emphasized rising food insecurity and the loss of specific federal purchases; Smith cited committee figures that she said showed $9,226,348 intended for school food purchasing, $4,445,518 for childcare food purchasing and "almost $5,000,000" for the Minnesota local food purchase assistance program would not be coming from Washington, D.C. She also said cuts included roughly "$13,300,000" in local purchases allocated for schools and childcare centers.

Representative Hansen framed the vote as reflecting competing priorities between expanding food purchases for children and other program investments in the bill, and he asked for a roll call on the DE3 amendment and the bill. After a final roll call the DE3 amendment as amended was adopted by a vote of seven ayes and six nays, and the committee renewed Chair Anderson's motion to re-refer House File 1704, as amended, to the Committee on Ways and Means; that referral likewise passed by roll call, 7–6.

The transcript records a mixture of procedural and policy arguments: proponents called the bill a vehicle for Department of Agriculture priorities, including farm-to-school and Good Food Access funding lines; opponents criticized cuts to some food-shelf and local purchase programs and objected to adding non-agricultural items (for example, broadband-related training) to the omnibus bill without prior committee vetting. Several members said they stood ready to continue negotiations next week when committee composition and co-chair arrangements change.

Votes at a glance: A1 (adopted; voice vote); A4 (adopted; voice vote); A5 (adopted; voice vote); A2 (adopted; voice vote); A3 (adopted; roll-call vote 7 ayes, 6 nays). DE3 as amended: adopted (roll-call vote 7 ayes, 6 nays); Motion to re-refer H.F. 1704 as amended to Ways and Means: adopted (roll-call vote 7 ayes, 6 nays).