The polarized debate over President Biden’s $3.5 trillion “build back better” bill may imperil the drafting of the 2023 farm policy law, said the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. Arkansas Sen. John Boozman blamed Democrats for a breakdown in bipartisanship, saying they were “shattering the farm bill process and putting our farmers’ futures in jeopardy.”
Boozman was irked about being shut out of deliberations over the allotment of $135 billion in new funding that the USDA would receive as part of the Biden bill. Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said last month that Democrats would apportion the money on their own. Republicans unanimously opposed the bill on a procedural vote and were unlikely to support it in the future. “We’re investing in climate-smart agriculture so farmers and ranchers can continue to be part of the solution,” said Stabenow on Tuesday in listing the bill’s benefits.
“Passing the 2018 farm bill was no simple task. It took moderation on both sides and months of thoughtful deliberation,” said Boozman.
Members of the House and Senate agriculture committees frequently declare that the panels are the least partisan in Congress, though that reputation sometimes does not match reality. The Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee splintered collegiality on the panel in 2018 with his surprise proposal for broader and stricter SNAP work requirements. Democrats refused to offer amendments during committee debate of the bill and voted against clearing it for a floor vote.
The Senate Agriculture Committee has not scheduled a vote on its part of the $3.5 trillion bill. Senators are waiting for the House to pass its version, said a staff worker. On Monday, the House Agriculture Committee approved a $66 billion expansion of forestry, rural development, and agricultural research programs on a party-line vote. An additional $28 billion for conservation and climate-smart practices by farmers will be added later, said committee chairman David Scott. Like Boozman, Republicans on the House committee decried what they said was a lack of comity.
Also on Monday, the House Judiciary Committee approved language for the “build back better” bill that would provide legal status for an estimated 8 million “Dreamers,” for those admitted through the Temporary Protected Status program, and for undocumented essential workers, reported The Hill. Judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler said the provisions provide “a path to permanent residence for America’s Dreamers, temporary protected status holders, farmworkers, and other essential workers who keep our country running.”