GOP Ag Spending Bill

GOP Ag Spending Bill

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. A partisan House subcommittee mark-up of the 2024 USDA-FDA spending bill shows a stark contrast between GOP and Democratic policies.

The GOP bill cuts discretionary spending by $532 million to just over $25 billion but relies on over $8 billion in unused Biden pandemic funds to achieve that.

Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Andy Harris …

HARRIS … “This legislation rejects the Biden Administration’s unrealistic proposed spending levels that are detached from the dire fiscal reality that our country faces.”

On the other hand, Democrat Rosa DeLauro read a quote from Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack …

DeLAURO … “Today, House Republicans proposed stark cuts to USDA’s programs, and in some cases, whole offices, in a way they know would only harm America’s economy and communities. The proposal is pathetic, it is punitive, and it is petty.”

The GOP criticizes Vilsack’s CCC spending authority for using it for his climate-smart ag program. But Chairman Harris adds …

HARRIS … “Let me be clear. Restricting these authorities and returning them to pre-COVID language will have no impact on farm bill and conservation programs, crop insurance, or the Secretary’s ability to access the CCC in the case of an animal or health emergency.”

The bill would expand work requirements for SNAP, cut WIC and rural clean energy programs, reduce FSA loan forgiveness, end Packers and Stockyards reform efforts and go after farmland ownership by China and other foreign adversaries, among other things.

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