Farm Bill Doubts
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson. The future of a long-delayed farm bill may depend on what voters decide in November.
Lawmakers left Washington for a month of campaigning without passing a new five-year bill, after the third farm bill extension expired.
Senate Ag Chair John Boozman says time is running out …
BOOZMAN … “What’s going to happen is, we’re in danger of losing the farm bill, not getting it passed. And then also, the states losing a year. Because I don’t know what’s going to happen in the election, these things are hard to get done.”
Boozman gave Democrats a one-year delay, instead of two, for states to lower SNAP overpayment rates and avoid funding penalties.
Republican Chuck Grassley admits the election could decide the outcome …
GRASSLEY … “If it’s just the House that they carry, I think we still got a chance of getting the five-year farm bill. If they carry both houses, I think they would want to write a different farm bill next year.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune remains optimistic that a path to a new farm bill could be found after the election …
THUNE … “My expectation is that one way or the other, we are going to get the rest of this farm bill done, and after this election is over with, we’ll figure out a way or a pathway, an avenue—perhaps it rides on something else.”
Thune says a farm bill must get done to give farmers “certainty and predictability.”
