WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sharply criticized the draft farm bill by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. He said it would damage the coalition that traditionally stands united behind farm bills and “increases the likelihood of failure to get a farm bill through the process.”
The comprehensive, five-year legislation on agriculture, nutrition, raw materials and conservation programs is scheduled to be discussed starting Thursday morning in the House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Republican Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania.
It has already been published heading for a collision with a proposal in the Democratic-controlled Senate amid disagreements over programs to combat hunger and protect wildlife. In addition, the must-pass bill faces a House with a narrow 217-213 Republican majority.
Vilsack expressed frustration that work on the $1.5 trillion measure has been delayed by eight months and said he was “deeply concerned” about the proposed package by Thompson last week. Lawmakers fighting over spending and the speakership in the House last year passed an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, which expires on Sept. 30.
“I appreciate that people are working hard. I appreciate that they listened to the people out there in the country,” said Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa.
“But I’m afraid we’re dealing with a situation here where the proposal being put forward by the House of Representatives and the Republican members of the Agriculture Committee is really not designed to provide a path to passage… I think it’s unfortunately designed to lead to a dead end, which will lead to further delays.”
Cuts in food and disaster programs
Vilsack said he opposes provisions that would cut spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance to more than 40 million low-income families.
By limiting future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, the basis for benefit levels, the bill’s cuts would amount to $30 billion over 10 years, according to the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. appreciated. Vilsack put the amount at $27 billion.
“It’s clear that historically there was a coalition that was central to the passage of the farm bill and that recognized the importance of addressing the nutrition and agriculture programs,” Vilsack said. “It’s essentially a rift in the coalition that is absolutely essential to the passage of the farm bill… The fact that we’re crossing that red line raises the real possibility that we won’t be able to get the farm bill through the process.”
He said he also had a problem with a section of the House bill that deals with the Commodity Credit Corporation, which runs various agricultural programs.
The bill would limit the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) authority to apply Section 5 of the CCC. Vilsack said this would restrict the agency’s freedom to act in responding to natural disasters affecting farmers and force the USDA to rely on Congress to pass disaster relief.
“There is no guarantee that such bills will pass,” Vilsack said. “And second, Congress often underfunds these bills, as was the case recently with the 2023 disasters.”
He said Thompson was “essentially proposing to take away the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to use the CCC in the event of, for example, a natural disaster that distorts markets.” He also said he believed the bill overestimates the savings that could be achieved.
Vilsack said he preferred a Proposal for an agricultural law Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, described the proposal as more “practical” and “doable.” Stabenow, who released a summary of her bill but not the text, would, among other things, escalate eligibility for nutrition programs such as SNAP.
Chairman defends proposal
In a statement after the call, Thompson contradicted Vilsack’s comments and said his bill represented “historic investments” in agriculture.
“This last-minute push makes clear that the Secretary is determined to use every penny of the borrowing authority provided to him to bypass Congress if left unchecked,” he said. “The committee reaffirms Congress’s authority over the Commodity Credit Corporation, which will bring reckless administrative spending under control and ensure funding for key bipartisan priorities in the farm bill.”
“The sudden discontent over the use of the CCC as a funder is nothing more than the latest partisan attempt to divide our committee and slow progress on passing a farm bill.”
The Committee in a press release There were also several words of praise for Thompson’s proposal on Wednesday, including from the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the heads of various commodity and trade groups.
