Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, says there is a recurring challenge as committee leaders draft an outline of the 2018 farm bill: “The big problem is we haven’t got any money.” The Agriculture Committee appealed for additional funding early this year but the budget plan approved by Congress kept funding steady.
Farm and conservation groups have presented a variety of ideas that would drive farm bill costs at least $15 billion over the CBO baseline, said John Gordley, head of the Washington office of the American Soybean Association, in an Agri-Pulse essay. “Unless Congress provides additional funding, the House and Senate Agriculture committees and groups that support enactment of the 2018 farm bill are facing some tough decisions in the next few months. Very few programs have been identified where savings can be made to offset any of these costs.”
Some reformers have proposed large cuts in crop insurance, but the program is the top priority of farm groups. Gordley said unity is vital among the farm bill coalition, traditionally composed of farm groups, anti-hunger groups, and conservation and environmental groups, but it can be jeopardized by demands for additional spending for pet ideas.