Senators eye Iran funding bill for farm aid, still weighing size

Republicans on the Senate Ag Committee are considering attaching additional support for U.S. ag producers to a future supplemental funding package to give the Pentagon more money for its Iran operations.

The White House could soon request additional funding to sustain its Iran war effort. Farm-state senators believe such a package could offer an opportunity to deliver additional money to U.S. farmers.

“You're seeing that it’s increasingly likely that there'll be a request from the administration for a military supplement,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Tuesday. He said that a bill packaging ag assistance with wildfire aid, and the additional military funding could be a way to secure enough support to pass the senate.

“The Democrats clearly want something on the wildfires,” he said.  He said that will be key to moving a supplemental spending bill in the Senate. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said that he is eying “any bill that is moving” as a potential vehicle.

Republicans had been expected to propose $15 billion in additional assistance for farmers struggling with low crop prices and high production costs. The assistance would come on the heels of the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance program that the Trump administration stood up in December.

Hoeven said that discussions have been centered around the $15 billion number. However, both Boozman and Hoeven suggested that the figure could still be modified, particularly in light of recent spikes in fertilizer prices.

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Conversations are “ongoing,” Hoeven said on Monday. “We’ve been having conversations and there will be more.”

The North Dakota senator said though that specialty crops will likely take up a larger share than they did in the December package.

Specialty crop groups were disappointed after the administration said they would be eligible for only $1 billion of the $12 billion unveiled and that they also would have to share that sum with sugar producers.

The industry has been pushing for at least $5 billion in additional assistance, which House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., has also supported.

“That’s realistic,” Hoeven said when asked about the $5 billion figure.

There’s also a goal to pair the assistance with language to allow year-round, nationwide sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15, Hoeven said during a committee hearing with ag industry leaders on Tuesday. 

There is no clear timeline on when the administration might seek to pass a supplemental funding package, however.

The president and senior officials continue to offer differing assessments of how long the Iran campaign could last. President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that the military objectives are “pretty well complete.” Meanwhile, the same day, the Department of Defense posted a photo of a missile to social media with the message, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.”

There is also no guarantee that Democrats would back such a measure, even with wildfire assistance included. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday said she is a “hard no” on any supplemental funding.

“The Trump administration cannot explain the reasons that we entered this war, the goals that we’re trying to accomplish and the methods for doing that,” she said. “This is not a war supported by this country and this is not a war that makes us safer.”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy also signaled his opposition for additional military funding in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.

The opposition is unlikely to be uniform within the party, however. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., for example, voted against an Iran war powers resolution last week and has a history of siding with Republicans on funding votes.