OMAHA (DTN) -- The U.S. Senate broke a 41-day long stalemate on Monday evening by passing a funding bill to end the longest partial government shutdown in history.

Seven Democrats and one independent joined 52 Republicans to end the shutdown.

Democratic senators who switched were Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also voted against the bill.

The bill still needs to be passed by the House and then also signed by President Donald Trump to reopen on the government. The House has been out of session since Sept. 19, but House members are expected back to vote, potentially as soon as Wednesday.

The Continuing Resolution will reopen government immediately, and extend funding for most federal agencies through Jan. 30, 2026.

The bill, however, would fund USDA through the full fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026.

GOP REJECTS ACA EXTENSION

The bill does not contain an extension of enhanced premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which was the main demand by Democrats when the shutdown began. Roughly 22 million people rely on the tax credits to buy insurance through the ACA marketplace.

Before final passage, senators voted 47-53 along party lines to defeat an amendment by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., that would have provided a one-year extension of the ACA tax credits. Baldwin said people looking to enroll in health-insurance coverage for next year are seeing premiums double now on the marketplace website.

"Is this everything I think we should do? No. We should make health care more affordable for everyone forever; but I am willing to compromise to avoid catastrophe for families I work for," Baldwin said.

HEMP BAN ADVANCES

In a bipartisan vote, senators voted down an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would have removed new proposed restrictions on hemp. The bill rewrites the 2018 farm bill's provisions on hemp to end the unregulated sale of hemp-based products, including Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinols. The bill would limit cannabinoids to .4 milligrams combined per container. That eliminates "full spectrum CBD (cannabidiol) products" from the market. Paul said the provision will shut down the hemp industry across the United States. On the floor, Paul said the new language overrides 23 state laws and "destroys the livelihood of hemp farmers." Pointing to financial challenges facing farmers growing commodity crops, Paul said, "For many farmers, hemp has proven to be a lifeline, a new cash crop."

The new provisions, Paul said, would make illegal nearly every hemp product now on the market. "That amounts to an effective ban," he said.

Still, after some switching back and forth, senators voted 76-24 to keep the tighter hemp restrictions in the bill.

USDA DETAILS

The Senate bill would fully fund USDA through the 2026 fiscal year. The bill also extends programs under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (commonly known as the 2018 farm bill) until at least Sept. 30, 2026. That would give the House and Senate Agriculture committees more time to try again to complete the rest of the farm bill. Key provisions, especially with commodity programs, were passed in the budget reconciliation and tax bill back in July.

When it comes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the bill provides $107 billion in mandatory funding for the program, and the bill reimburses both SNAP and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) contingency reserve accounts used during the shutdown.

Meanwhile the Trump administration on Monday appealed rulings on SNAP to the U.S. Supreme Court in a bid to keep payments blocked until Congress approves a measure to reopen the government. Over the weekend, USDA sent out a letter ordering states that had been paid to "undo" those benefit payments. At the moment, monthly food-aid for nearly 42 million low-income Americans is up in the air.

The appeals court ruling notes "the government sat on its hands for nearly a month" before trying to figure out how to provide payments in November.

It's unclear how quickly the Supreme Court could issue an order on the SNAP benefits, or if Congress can fund the program before the end of the week.

FARM PROGRAMS AND AGENCY BREAKDOWNS

The bill would automatically provide $30 billion in annual funding to the Commodity Credit Corp., which is used to fund mandatory farm programs such as commodity and conservation payments. The fund also is expected to be used for a potential aid package for farmers.

Under the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the bill includes $10 billion for farm loans "to ensure that our producers have access to necessary capital." The bill also includes language preventing USDA from closing any FSA county offices.

The bill, however, doesn't include changes that would increase FSA farm-loan limits or include other changes that would make USDA loans more attractive options for farmers. Several proposals have been offered in Congress, but it would take actual farm-bill legislation by the House and Senate Agriculture committees for those improvements to go into effect.

The bill also includes funding for USDA to better track foreign-owned lands and provide the Secretary of Agriculture with a position on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). Agricultural groups and farm-state lawmakers have pressed for years to give USDA a permanent seat on the committee, which decides whether foreign acquisitions create national security risks.

In conservation, the bill provides $850 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide technical assistance, despite the administration's budget proposal to eliminate technical assistance appropriations. The bill "decreases funding for offices and programs solely benefiting urban agriculture."

The bill would provide $3.8 billion for agricultural research but eliminate funding for "Biden-era priorities like Climate Hubs." The bill fully funds the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility at Kansas State University.

Under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) the bill includes $1.2 billion in funding. The funding includes provisions to deal with chronic wasting disease, New World screwworm and avian influenza.

The bill also includes $13.5 million to help ranchers buy electronic identification tags to comply with animal disease traceability requirements.

In the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), $211 million will go to the agency, including $1 million to continue the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program.

Rural Development would receive $4.1 billion, which includes $1.7 billion for housing rental assistance; $1 billion for single-family housing direct loans and $25 billion for guaranteed loans; $1.8 billion in grants and loans for rural businesses; $1.4 billion for rural water and wastewater infrastructure.

International food assistance includes $1.2 billion for Food for Peace and $240 million for McGovern-Dole programs but also requires USDA to outline how it will transfer the Food for Peace program from the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Foreign Agricultural Service.

The bill also includes the Grain Standards Act extension. The extension has already passed the House, but the Senate amended it and the House will have to vote again on that provision.

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

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