McConnell casts deciding vote on Farm Bill, which has been stalled by Democrats due to SNAP cuts

Mitch McConnell returned to the Republican-led Agriculture Committee this week after his medical absence, and cast the deciding vote to advance the farm bill to the full Senate. This vote came on Tuesday, Sept. 15, after Democrats blocked the current version of the farm bill in August, reports Frida Garza for Grist. 

The absence of McConnell and Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville stalled the bill's progress, but once they returned, their votes advanced it. Democrats oppose the proposed farm bill because it doesn’t reverse the $186 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) signed into law by the Trump Administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“Changes to SNAP are typically implemented through the farm bill, which historically was passed every five or so years,” Garza writes. This is the fourth year the bill has not been renewed. “Democrats in the Senate Agriculture Committee have refused to support a farm bill that doesn’t restore SNAP funding; they have also pushed for a delay in a crucial change to SNAP that would increase states’ administrative costs for running the food assistance program.”

The proposed bill does neither of these things. To win on the Senate floor, Republicans will need 60 votes — they hold 53 seats, and will need to convince several Democrats to join them. Garza writes that it is unlikely the farm bill will be passed this year.

 

Many people with low-income rely on SNAP, and many farmers rely on a customer base who pays with SNAP benefits. The current iteration of the farm bill may leave states with higher administrative costs for SNAP. States will have to rethink their budgets, possibly ending up with less overall funding for agriculture, education, transportation or other programs.

Measles deaths continue to climb, and rural areas are not immune; cases in rural Pennsylvania are an example

This year is the deadliest yet from measles since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000. In Pennsylvania, four people have died from measles as of Sept. 15, 2026, and nearly 700 have been infected, reports Dani Blum for The New York Times. 

In Pennsylvania's rural Mifflin County, an unvaccinated 18-year-old died from measles-related neurological complications. Another county reported the death of a 40-year-old woman, later confirmed as unvaccinated. Last month, state health officials reported the deaths of two infants who contracted the virus.

Measles fatalities are typically one to three deaths for every 1,000 cases. Blum writes that this statistic suggests Pennsylvania’s case count is higher than what is being reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not recorded any deaths from measles this year.

“The Pennsylvania deaths have been embroiled in political controversy, with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. disputing whether measles directly caused some of them,” Blum writes. “Last month, Dr. Erica Schwartz, the new director of the C.D.C., directed agency staff to not include the first two deaths in the national tally, going against the agency’s typical practice of accepting data reported by states.”

The virus is most dangerous for children, adults over 20 and those who are immunocompromised. “Roughly one in five unvaccinated people who contract measles in the United States is hospitalized.” Measles-related pneumonia and immune amnesia are among the deadly symptoms.

Trump shifts funds from National Parks to projects in Washington

Funding U.S. National Parks Service projects has not been a priority for the Trump Administration, which has siphoned money from the USNPS for several Washington, D.C., projects, including the unveiling of gold leaf statues, reopening ornamental water fountains and repairing the Lincoln Memorial pool. This spring, the Trump Administration used at least $67 million generated by park entrance fees to fund such projects, reports Maxine Joselow for The New York Times. 

About 1,500 projects at more than 200 sites nationwide were deemed “low priority,” while projects in Washington were added to a list of White House priorities. There is currently a $24 billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects across the parks.

Staff cuts and funding shifts have left 433 USNPS sites in turmoil, with 20% of the parks being significantly understaffed. A proposal to sell a small parcel of Yosemite’s land to a private developer has become a bipartisan issue, Joselow writes. “Polling shows that Americans of all stripes and political persuasions overwhelmingly love their parks.”

Trump has taken other actions that affect the parks, including putting his face on park passes and ordering the removal of exhibits that "inappropriately disparage Americans,” as was the case for one exhibit about slavery and a sign about climate change.

Fran P. Mainella, a Republican who led the Park Service under President George W. Bush, said that Trump may not realize the value of parks to the public and the economy, and said there needs to be a way to better tell Trump that story. The parks and politics are no strangers; the Bush Administration was accused of promoting religious and conservative content at the parks.

Nonetheless, “Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican who leads a subcommittee on national parks, said in an interview that Mr. Trump ‘has been an incredible supporter of the parks.’ He dismissed reports of funding and staffing issues at parks as ‘fear-mongering’ by the president’s critics before the midterm elections.”