WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — With the midterms over, lawmakers are preparing to return to Washington with little time left to address agricultural priorities, including the Farm Bill.
Jeremy Zwinger, president and CEO of Farm and Trade Inc., says traders are watching closely. He warns that passing a Farm Bill could become even more difficult under the next Congress.
“I dont know if a Farm Bill is possible in the new Washington after January first. President Trump will still have veto power, there may be political induced impeachment, wildness and craziness, and all thats going on and the Farm Bill will not be a priority so I think theres a plan from what I hear to get a Farm Bill passed, it really needs to, but you go into the next year its gonna be more about giving free food and food stamps than about protecting our agricultural system.”
Duane Simpson with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives says disagreements over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits remain a major obstacle.
“The first one is the one I think everyone’s most familiar with, and that deals with the SNAP benefits, where the cost share between the states and federal government, where Democrats want to see a two-year delay, Republicans have offered a one-year delay. There is some room in there to negotiate around a one-year delay.”
Still, Simpson is optimistic lawmakers can reach an agreement this year.
“This is more art than science, but I would say that I’m highly confident. I’m as confident as I’ve been. To be fair, I’ve been pretty pessimistic in the past, but I mean, I would say it’s 80-20. There are so many things that can go wrong that could stop it from happening. I think if they’re going to do the remainder of the Farm Bill, it happens in the lame duck. I think that trying to do this with a new Congress in the last two years of a presidency, I think if they don’t do it now, just about everybody believes they’re not doing it for another two years.”
President Donald Trump has said he is willing to work with the new Congress to advance American priorities, though lawmakers still have several options for addressing the Farm Bill before then. Options include adding the remaining Farm Bill provisions to a year-end package, attaching them to other legislation or approving a fourth extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, which expired more than three years ago.
Those year-end negotiations could also provide an opportunity to advance nationwide year-round E15 sales. Troy Bredenkamp with the Renewable Fuels Association says the industry is exploring every available legislative option.
“We’re looking at any and all avenues to get that done. There is a spending package that will need to come together. The government runs out of appropriations or funds on December 11th. We also know that there’s a desire to finish work on the Farm Bill. There is the National Defense Authorization Act.”
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says E15 legislation could be attached to the defense spending bill, which also remains unfinished.
Meanwhile, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is preparing to work with incoming lawmakers. Hunter Ihrman says the group plans to meet with new members of Congress to discuss cattle industry priorities.
“Every time there’s a new Congress, it’s kind of like back to school for us. Our entire team goes up to Capitol Hill. We go knock on doors. We meet people face to face. D.C. is still very much an in-person town, even in this age of Zoom meetings and virtual events. You still get the most done by sitting across the table and looking someone in the eye and having a conversation, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do at the start of the year. When the new Congress gets sworn in, we’re going to go office to office and drop off some business cards and get to know folks and strike up conversations. We’re going to do some educational events for these new members of Congress to highlight some particular facets of the cattle industry.”
The new Congress will be sworn in January 3.
