NGFA joined more than 500 agriculture and farm groups to urge House and Senate leaders to enact a 2024 farm bill.
“If Congress does not come together this year to enact a bipartisan farm bill, the legislative process will begin anew in the 119th Congress…we have concerns that it may not be logistically or politically feasible to advance a new farm bill early in the next Congress,” states the July 22 letter to leaders of the House and Senate and both Agriculture Committees.
“As committed stakeholders and beneficiaries of the farm bill, we cannot continue to wait for updated policies, provisions, initiatives and critical funding that support our collective interests,” the letter states. “Therefore, we respectfully and strongly urge you to craft a bipartisan farm bill that can pass your respective chambers and be conferenced and enacted in this Congress.”
The current farm bill extension expires Sept. 30 and there are few legislative weeks left in session before the November elections.
The House Agriculture Committee advanced a farm bill in May with four Democratic votes. Meanwhile, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., released a summary of her farm bill proposal in May, while Ranking Member John Boozman, R-Ark., released an outline of Senate Republicans’ farm bill proposal in June.
Meanwhile, during a July 23 House Agriculture Committee hearing on farm income, Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., made several comments about his Democratic counterparts and the farm bill process. Earlier that day, Chairwoman Stabenow issued a report promoting her farm bill proposal and criticizing the House bill, which she said is “unbalanced and skewed heavily toward just a few of the tools that make up the broad farm safety net.”
Thompson retorted during his opening statement: “If there are members on the other side of the aisle that truly want to see a farm bill come to fruition this year, my door remains open to negotiation from any partner willing to come to the table with a serious proposal, not more red lines,” Thompson said. He added that he would be willing to consider an informal pre-conference negotiation with the Senate during the short time remaining in the congressional year.
“However, I cannot reconcile nor negotiate a bipartisan 900-page bill with a partisan 90-page summary. For that to be viable, Chairwoman Stabenow needs to unveil her bill text,” he said.
During the hearing, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott, D-Ga., outlined his concerns about the committee-passed farm bill provision to suspend USDA’s ability to use the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to aid producers.
“Our challenge remains today what it was before; how do we pay for what needs to be done in the farm bill,” Scott said. “I remain concerned that the pending 2024 farm bill eliminates USDA’s ability to use CCC funds to help insulate farmers from market shocks.”
Members of the House leave Capitol Hill this week to begin an early August recess and are due to return on Sept. 9.