Farm Bill Update
The Process (Slowly) Moves Forward
ROB MILLS
PERRYVILLE, MISSOURI
The 2024 Farm Bill has done the equivalent of driving out of the garage and getting on the main drag, but whether it arrives at its hoped-for destination is anybody’s guess.
On May 23rd, the bill formally named the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 passed the House Agriculture Committee by a vote of 33-21. It was a party line vote, except for the fact four Democrats voted for the measure. They were Don Davis and Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Sanford Bishop of Georgia and Yadria Caraveo of Colorado.
The bill is expected to make it to the House floor for debate in September. Until then, the process of developing separate appropriation bills that make up the overall legislation will have to be crafted. Reportedly, there will need to be discussions between House Republicans and the Congressional Budget Office to make more room for spending in the bills’ five-year budget cycle.
According to “The Fence Post”, veteran Pennsylvania congressman Glen Thompson, the committee chair, will be asking the Congressional Budget Office to clear an extra 53 billion dollars of spending in the overall bill. The money would come from unspent Community Credit Corporation funds (CCC). The CBO says only eight billion dollars is available from the CCC, so negotiations are imminent. Thompson acknowledged his request would probably have to be reduced. If so, he said he would target spending cuts that don’t affect the bills’ priorities.
According to Democrats, Republicans have already taken the axe to their priority, by cutting funding for SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (aka Food Stamps) Democratic House members David Scott of Georgia and Angie Craig of Minnesota both remarked that although the bill had passed the House Committee, it had no future in its current form. According to the “Progressive Farmer”, Scott criticized Republicans for the 30 billion dollars being cut from SNAP in the committee bill. He added divisive politics were damaging any attempt to create bi-partisan legislation.
Not to be forgotten is the fact the bill must also pass the U.S. Senate, where it is presently receiving little attention. In May, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich), the Senate Ag Committee chair, said she would be willing to re-authorize the 2018 bill for a second time, because like Craig & Scott, she felt the House Republican proposal was unacceptable.
Her colleague, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark), the ranking opposition member on the committee, praised Thompson’s efforts in getting the bill through the House Ag Committee. But he remarked in a discussion at the Republican National Convention with Thompson and U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) that for a very different reason, he wouldn’t oppose a second re-authorization. Arkansas’ senior senator said he’d prefer round two of the 2018 bill to new legislation that doesn’t financially support ag producers properly. He emphasized that House & Senate Republicans prefer a new bill to reauthorization.
The Farm Bill is a five-year policy & spending vehicle that is the foundation of U.S. Agriculture. Its emphasis includes commodity, conservation & trade policy, with SNAP receiving the overwhelming amount of funding. The estimated cost for the 2024 version is expected to be 1.5 trillion dollars. A new bill must be passed, or the old one reauthorized by September 30th.
The late iconic Republican Senator Everett Dirksen once commented on government spending decades ago by saying, “you know, you take a hundred billion here and then add a hundred billion there, and then you’re talking about some real money.” With the world of agriculture waiting for Congress to act, it’s likely that a government known for its spending will finally get the memo and authorize a new bill. ∆
ROB MILLS: MidAmerica Farmer Grower Contributing Writer