Federal Hemp Policy Stalls With December Deadline Five Weeks Out

NATIONAL, September 19, 2026: No federal agency or congressional committee took new action on hemp-derived THC beverage policy this week, leaving Washington's two competing legislative fixes and the Food and Drug Administration's overdue guidance exactly where they stood a week ago as the December 11 deadline draws closer.

The Lawful Hemp Protection Act, Rep. Andy Barr's bill establishing a 1 percent total THC framework, remains assigned to four House committees with eight cosponsors and no hearing scheduled, a count unchanged since early September. The Beverage Regulatory Parity Act, which would regulate hemp beverages like alcohol under Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau oversight, remains with the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees without a markup date. Neither bill saw a new cosponsor, a committee referral update, or a floor scheduling announcement this week.

The FDA also remains silent on the cannabinoid lists and container guidance it was statutorily required to publish by February 10, a deadline now more than seven months past, according to the Congressional Research Service's most recent update. No further CRS or agency action followed this week.

With Congress's attention largely absorbed by state-level hemp fights playing out in federal courts in Ohio, Connecticut and elsewhere, the national picture heading into the final stretch before December 11 is one of holding patterns rather than movement. Industry groups including the U.S. Hemp Roundtable have said they intend to use the time before the deadline to press for a permanent framework; no new public statement from the group was issued this week.