Lawmakers have a full agenda for the coming weeks, but House Ag Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig is calling for the Farm Bill to be done.
It did not happen last session, and she says it will take a lot of bipartisan work to make it happen.
“We need a Farm Bill; we need a five-year full Farm Bill. Unfortunately, right now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are intending to do what I’m calling a peace meal deal as part of the budget bill that’s coming up here in Washington over the course of the next couple of weeks. So they want to plus up reference prices and crop insurance, which you know, I agree it needs to happen, but it needs to happen as one of 12 titles in the Farm Bill. If it doesn’t happen through a traditional five-year Farm Bill coalition, then commodities are going to be pitted against one another, and we just don’t want that.”
Craig referenced the reconciliation process. Committee Chair GT Thompson recently said he wants to update safety nets and crop insurance through that bill. SNAP is another area likely to see significant debate. Thompson has stated that no cuts will be made to those who rely on those benefits.
