WASHINGTON – The U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Friday released draft legislation for the long-awaited $1.5 trillion farm bill, which is likely to face opposition from Democrats in the Senate amid disagreements over federal anti-hunger programs and climate requirements should.
The committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, said in a statement that the bill, which will set agriculture, food, natural resources and conservation policy for the next five years, is a “product of extensive feedback of” represents stakeholders and all members of the House of Representatives and addresses the needs of the agricultural country through the inclusion of hundreds of bipartisan policies.”
The legislation finances programs in 12 titles for five years.
It would boost rural agriculture, create a up-to-date global market for farmers to sell their products abroad, impose up-to-date reporting requirements for farmland purchases abroad, escalate funding for specialty crops and expand eligibility for disaster relief, among other things.
“The markup is one step in a larger process in the House that should not be compromised by misleading arguments, false narratives or Senate edicts,” Thompson said.
The House Agriculture Committee plans to highlight this 942-page invoice on Thursday. It is expected to cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years. You can find a title-by-title summary here Here.
In a statement, the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. David Scott of Georgia, criticized the bill for “taking food out of the mouths of America’s hungry children and preventing farmers from receiving the climate-smart conservation financing they so desperately need.” . and preventing the USDA from providing financial assistance to farmers in times of crisis.”
Scott warned that the current bill is unlikely to pass the House. Although Republicans hold a narrow majority, any legislation must be bipartisan to pass the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
The current extension of the farm law expires on September 30th.
On the Senate side, Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan and chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, released the Democrats’ statement. own suggestion Early May. Among other things, it would escalate eligibility for nutrition programs for low-income people such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Stabenow published a summary of the bill, but no text of the law.
Scott and Stabenow released a joint statement Tuesday after meeting with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee. They argued that Republicans should develop a bipartisan farm bill.
“House Republicans are undermining this goal by proposing measures that divide the broad, bipartisan coalition that has always been the foundation of a successful farm bill,” they wrote.
“We need a farm bill that holds the coalition together and upholds the historic tradition of food assistance to our most vulnerable Americans, while maintaining our commitment to our farmers who are fighting the impacts of the climate crisis every day,” they continued.
The House bill contains some provisions that Democrats oppose.
It would remove climate-friendly policy requirements for about $13 billion in conservation projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. Another would limit future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, the formula that calculates SNAP benefits. “The economic impact of the SNAP cuts alone would be staggering,” Scott said.
A freeze on the Thrifty Food Plan would result in about $30 billion in cuts to SNAP over the next decade. after to the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. There are more than 41 million people who apply SNAP benefits. according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
However, the House farm bill would lift the ban on low-income Americans convicted of drug crimes from receiving SNAP benefits.
Environmental groups also oppose the draft farm bill and raise concerns about a redistribution of IRA funds. It also includes a bill to regulate animal practices by states.
Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch, said in a statement that the bill would strip key climate-friendly provisions, a watchdog group focused on government and corporate accountability in water, food and corporate overreach .
“Some of the leadership’s more dangerous proposals would set us back on animal welfare and climate-smart agriculture,” Jones said. “It’s time for Congress to put aside the culture wars and get back to work on a farm bill that puts consumers, farmers and the environment above politics and handouts from big agribusiness.”
