Most seasoned observers express little hope Congress will pass a farm bill this year, but the chairman of the House Ag Committee insists the panel could move legislation as early as next month.
“It's becoming more realistic,” House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., said in answer to a question about the farm bill's prospects on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. He added that his team is waiting on some final analysis from the Congressional Budget Office and working on "baking" bipartisan proposals into the legislation.
“I call it ‘tri-partisan’ because I've got both parties at the table and the American agriculture industry. … I think we're in a really good position from a policy perspective and [it's] a good, strong policy bill in the House,” Thompson sais.
Mike Stranz, vice president of advocacy with the National Farmers Union, said there is “nothing to be gained by waiting longer and longer” for a farm bill and that an April farm bill could be a possibility.
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“Whether that's in a committee, or just getting things further along down the line, [I] think the window is opening, and hopefully we can move ahead on that soon,” said Stranz.
Thompson said the House committee still has to figure out how to pay for a bill. He has been unable to get Democrats to agree to GOP proposals to reallocate Inflation Reduction Act funding and to shift money out of the nutrition title by restricting updates to the way Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are determined.
Virginia Houston, director of government affairs at the American Soybean Association, was also on this week’s show to discuss China’s impact on American agriculture.
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