John Hoeven, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, defends removing restrictions on USDA's use of the Commodity Credit Corporation for assisting farmers.
In 2018, Congress lifted CCC restrictions that were put in place after the Barack Obama administration used the account for farm disaster assistance during the 2010 congressional campaign.
Some congressional Republicans want to reimpose the restrictions after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack used the account to fund the Biden administration's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative.
Hoeven said that ending the restrictions in 2018 enabled the Trump administration to compensate growers for the impact of the trade war with China and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
"Everybody wants it (CCC spending authority) in place when they've got their guy in the White House and not when they don't," Hoeven said during this week's edition of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
A provision in the fiscal 2024 Agriculture spending bill that was defeated on the House floor in September included a provision to roll back Vilsack's CCC authority. The Senate version of the bill doesn't include such a provision.
In the rest of his interview, Hoeven talked about different aspects of the next farm bill. Hoeven is a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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Tyson Redpath of the Russell Group was also on the show this week. He stressed the importance of getting a farm bill done amid the ongoing uncertainty about government funding and the turmoil in the House, which has been effectively shut down since Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker Oct. 3.
"Well, what's at stake is making sure that we have farm program safety nets in place for next year. And what's at stake as well is making sure we get the next farm bill right. I think, sometimes, deadlines and speed can be the enemy of good policy," he said.
Also on the show this week was Katie Naessens with the Torrey Advisory Group.
To see the full conversations with Hoeven, Redpath and Naessens, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
