Top Senate Ag Committee appropriator Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told reporters Friday that the government shutdown could delay Trump administration efforts to give tariff support to farmers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that the administration could outline its tariff assistance package as soon as Tuesday. But Hoeven said that timeline could shift.
“We're kind of looking at next week maybe to do something,” Hoeven told reporters on Thursday. “But I think that could change now with the shutdown.”
Senators again blocked two competing efforts on Friday to reopen the federal government, likely keeping it closed over the weekend until Majority Leader John Thune, R- S.D., reconvenes lawmakers on Monday. The Friday votes were the fourth time Democrats voted down a House-passed Republican proposal over expiring health care tax credits.
Almost half of Agriculture Department employees have been furloughed in the shutdown, leaving the agency hamstrung and prompting multiple services to shutter.
The comments echo what some have already expressed privately. A person familiar with ongoing tariff assistance discussions who was granted anonymity told Agri-Pulse on Thursday night that the department lack the staff to put together an announcement by Tuesday, if the government remains shut past Friday.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said that he had heard “different things” regarding the timing of an announcement, but added that he believes officials are still trying to decide on a final number for the size of the package.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the administration used the Commodity Credit Corporation to deliver more than $20 billion to farmers to compensate them for lost exports.
The financial need could be even greater this time. USDA estimates ag sales to China for the forthcoming financial year could slip below FY2019, the low point for U.S. ag exports to China during Trump’s first term.
Hoeven, however, would not comment on what size assistance package would be appropriate this time around.
“The administration will tell you that,” Hoeven said.
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The president has indicated that he would like to use tariff revenues to fund any assistance. Hoeven told Agri-Pulse earlier this week that he has been working on changes to Section 32, which would allow the administration to divert some tariff receipts to farmers. But he also stressed again on Friday that Congress wants to make sure the administration has multiple tools and avenues available, including the Commodity Credit Corporation that Trump raided in the last administration to fund tariff assistance.
“We've got that tool available for them, and we're working on some others too,” Hoeven reiterated.
But the CCC’s borrowing authority is severely depleted, with some estimating it could now sit around $4 billion out of a potential $30 billion. The administration is also set to tap the fund for other farm assistance payments in the coming months.
Congressional staff and administration officials continued discussions over the contours of an assistance package on Friday, according to a person familiar with discussions. The person added that ultimately, a support package could incorporate multiple vehicles and mechanisms.
Analysts have pointed out that one of the risks of relying on tariff revenues to fund farmer support – as a package based solely on Section 32 would – is that the Supreme Court could still rule that many of Trump’s new tariffs are illegal and order refunds. The court is set to hear oral arguments in a case challenging the legality of many of Trump's new tariffs in November.
However the package is designed, Marshall is hoping that it includes support for growers of commodities beyond soybeans – which have received the bulk of public attention because of their steep export losses and heavy reliance on the Chinese market.
“I think the sorghum guys are hurting a lot more, proportionally, than the soybean guys,” Marshall told Agri-Pulse.
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