“This committee’s number one priority for this Congress will be the passage of a bipartisan, five-year Farm Bill,” said G.T. Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), the chair of the House Agriculture Committee, at an organizing meeting held yesterday to kick off the committee’s work in the 119th Congress. In her opening remarks, top Democrat Angie Craig (D-Minnesota), echoed the sentiment but pointed to roadblocks ahead.
“Last year’s bill had some really strong provisions, and others that needed work. It didn’t have the votes to pass then; and it doesn’t now,” Craig said. “I want a different result this Congress.”
So far, the same fights over cuts to hunger programs and the farm safety net are likely to surface, both across the aisle and between Republican lawmakers who face tension between spending more money on farmer subsidies and tightening purse strings across the board. Craig also referenced the menu of cuts Republicans started circulating last week that could be included in an upcoming reconciliation bill, which, she said, will jeopardize “the bipartisan support we all know a farm bill needs in order to pass.” (Link to this post.)
