House Agriculture Committee

Democrats in Congress propose $10 billion in economic aid to farmers

With Congress due to adjourn in 10 days, Democrats proposed $10 billion in economic assistance to farmers nationwide to buffer the impact of lower commodity prices. Senior farm-state Republicans have said substantial aid is needed — $15 billion was mentioned on Wednesday — but House GOP leaders reportedly objected to the offset Democrats would use to pay for the aid.

Costa runs against Scott to be Democratic leader on House Ag

California Rep. Jim Costa said on Wednesday that he was seeking party support to become the Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee, a post now held by Georgia Rep. David Scott. The race would be a rematch of 2020, when Scott became the first Black chairman of the committee.

Turnover is certain on House Agriculture roster, elections will determine its scale

One-fourth of the members of the House Agriculture Committee are in tight re-election races, according to political handicappers, a factor in the likely upheaval of the committee roster in 2025. Turnover is a fact of life on the committee — only half of its current members served on the …

House Republicans press leaders for a farm bill vote

Six of every 10 House Republicans signed a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson asking for a floor vote on the new farm bill during the lame-duck session of Congress, arguing that the legislation is a “must-pass item.” The letter was released on Thursday, a day after House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries listed the farm bill as one of his three top priorities for action after the Nov. 5 general election.

Farm bill is on the lame-duck agenda of House Democrats

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries put the farm bill third on his short list of must-pass bills for the post-election session of Congress on Wednesday, behind averting a government shutdown and assuring military preparedness. The lame-duck session is the last chance to enact a new farm bill before lawmakers would have to start over in January, when a new Congress takes office.

Stabenow insists on balancing agriculture and nutrition in farm bill

With time running short for action on the new farm bill, Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said on Wednesday that the legislation has to consider public nutrition and agricultural programs equally. While lawmakers have disagreed for months on SNAP funding, higher crop subsidy spending, and climate mitigation, they hope to reach an agreement in the near term.

House Ag chairman blasts ‘one-sided’ farm bill coalition and ‘meddling Senate Democrat’

The farm bill coalition — the rural and urban alliance credited with carrying farm bills to enactment — "is a one-sided talking point," said House Agriculture chairman Glenn Thompson on Tuesday in insisting on a $53 billion increase in farm subsidies and cuts in SNAP. Time is running out for passage of the new farm bill this year, and farm groups, silent for weeks, are now calling for prompt congressional action.

Senate GOP farm bill plan: Billions more for farm subsidies, cuts in SNAP

The new farm bill should spend tens of billions of dollars more on crop subsidies and crop insurance while paring SNAP outlays, said Arkansas Sen. John Boozman in releasing the Senate GOP's outline for farm bill discussions on Tuesday. "I hope that we can get a farm bill done" this year, he said.

House farm bill is built on ‘voodoo economics,’ says analyst

The House Agriculture Committee is relying on made-up math to pay for a huge increase in crop subsidy and crop insurance spending, said analysts during a think tank discussion on Wednesday. “It makes voodoo economics look great,” said moderator Josh Sewell of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group.

GOP powers House committee passage of farm bill with $53 billion in new ag spending

The Republican-controlled House Agriculture Committee, with four Democratic crossovers, approved a farm bill early Friday that increases crop subsidy and crop insurance spending by one-third, cuts SNAP by $30 billion, and repudiates a Biden administration initiative on climate mitigation. Democrats said the bill has no chance of becoming law and might not survive a vote on the House floor because it lacks bipartisan support. (No paywall)

GOP uses ‘counterfeit money’ to pay for farm bill, says Vilsack

House Republicans are building unrealistic expectations in farm country by relying on “counterfeit money” to pay for a $50 billion expansion of crop subsidies and crop insurance in the new farm bill, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday. The House Agriculture Committee was expected to approve Chairman Glenn Thompson’s proposed bill on Thursday in a vote that would split along party lines.

GOP farm bill puts SNAP savings into trade and horticulture programs

House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson would funnel $10 billion in food stamp cuts into an expansion of trade promotion and horticulture programs as part of the new farm bill, said Republican staff workers on Thursday. One of them called opponents of SNAP cuts “hunger weirdos” who “use poor people as props.” (No paywall)

Crop subsidy costs could surge 56 percent under House farm bill, say analysts

The farm bill drafted by House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson could boost crop subsidy spending by $23 billion — 56 percent — above current levels and favor growers in the South over farmers in the North, according to analysts at two Midwestern universities. To offset the cost, they said, reductions may be needed in conservation, crop insurance, or nutrition programs.

‘Let’s get serious,’ says Stabenow, proposing 2024 farm bill

With the new farm bill months overdue, Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow proposed a farm bill on Wednesday that would boost so-called reference prices — a roadblock issue — while rejecting the $28 billion cut in SNAP sought by conservative Republicans. “That is a hard red line for me,” Stabenow told reporters.

Some crops will get bigger reference price increases than others, Thompson says

If Congress follows his lead, some commodities will get larger increases in reference prices than others, but the new farm bill will provide a robust safety net for all producers, said House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson on Wednesday. Thompson said his proposed package, to be released in coming weeks, would remove some of the “guardrails” that limit the use of climate mitigation funding.

Ten ag panelists on list of vulnerable House Democrats

The campaign committee for House Democrats lists 10 members of the House Agriculture Committee among 29 "Frontline Democrats" in a fundraising appeal. "We must defend all 29 vulnerable Democrats running for re-election" if the party is to win a House majority in the Nov. 5 general election, said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Allow ag processors to hire guestworkers, says House group

Congress should expand the agricultural guestworker program, now limited to seasonal jobs, to include employment at year-round processing plants, said a working group composed of House Agriculture Committee members on Thursday. “One thing that has become clear is the need for dairy producers, meat processors, sugar processors, forestry, ranchers, and others to have access to a steady and legal workforce,” said the lawmakers.

Vilsack and lawmakers spar over farm economy

During a sometimes prickly House hearing on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged lawmakers to buckle down and write a farm bill that does not cut SNAP or climate funds. Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee said the Biden administration has overlooked the needs of the large-scale farmers who produce the bulk of U.S. crops and livestock.

Year-end farm bill trash talk in the House

It’s the Republicans’ fault there was no farm bill this year, said the usually decorous Rep. David Scott, senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, as the House recessed for the year-end holidays. Says you, Republican staff workers responded on the internet.

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