Billions on Line for Ag
I’m Bob Larson. Fights between the parties AND among Democrats stand in the way of $65 billion for rural broadband, $10 billion for Ag disaster aid, and many billions more for ag-related infrastructure.
American Farm Bureau’s Emily Buckman says the first problem is getting the Senate to pass the House-passed stop-gap bill to avert an October first government shutdown and a possible credit default …
BUCKMAN … “It’s hard to tell at this point what Congress will do, but we do believe that everyone should come together and get a bill past the finish line, that’ll get us beyond that September 30 point.”
Buckman says Senate Republicans vow to provide no votes for the bill … but the fight over Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ Agenda is tied to the $1 trillion-plus Senate-passed infrastructure bill that AFB backs …
BUCKMAN … “It sounds like it will get delayed, according to reports, and as far as President Biden’s other piece of legislation, he’s trying to get to the finish line, there’s a lot in that process, and there’s still a lot left to do to get that piece of legislation pieced together.”
Buckman says that includes opposition by key moderates in the Senate and House to the tax and spending bill … that could hurt the infrastructure measure’s chances …
BUCKMAN … “It’s a possibility, it is a possibility, there were some promises made.”
Including from Speaker Pelosi for a vote sometime TODAY, raising the chances of her losing the votes needed to pass the Dem’s sweeping agenda, if she breaks her promise.
