Democrats on the House and Senate Agriculture committees are proposing $10 billion in market relief for farmers as the parties spar over an extension of the 2018 farm bill.
The cost of the payments could be fully offset because of a quirk in how the Congressional Budget Office estimates the impact of moving Inflation Reduction Act funding into the bill, another key part of the Democratic proposal, according to multiple sources.
The latest Democratic counteroffer, obtained Tuesday night by Agri-Pulse, would provide $9.8 billion in “economic assistance” for farmers, including $8.8 billion in payments to producers for crop year 2024 under terms of the Farmer Assistance and Revenue Mitigation Act of 2024 (FARM Act) introduced by Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., this fall.
Another $1 billion would pay for reimbursing 15% of premiums and fees paid for crop insurance and NAP coverage.
Texas farmers would get the largest share of payments and premium reimbursement under the Democratic plan at $1 billion, followed by Iowa ($860 million), Kansas ($850 million), and Illinois ($785 million), according to a Democratic document that details the FARM payments and premium rebates per state.
A summary of the proposal says, "Please help us understand why Republicans would reject an available $10 billion in non-deficit assistance for farmers if Republican leadership fails to provide $20 billion in deficit spending for that purpose." According to the summary, Republicans have proposed $20.3 billion in emergency relief for farmers.
Source: House and Senate Ag Committee DemocratsThe Democratic proposal also would move into the farm bill all unspent IRA funding for conservation programs and the Rural Energy for America Program.
Democrats want to retain climate-related restrictions for IRA funding provided through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Rolling the IRA money into the farm bill would permanently increase funding levels for the affected programs. House Republican leaders object to moving the IRA funding into the farm bill unless the climate-related restrictions are removed, according to House Ag Chairman "GT" Thompson, R-Pa.
Moving the money into the farm bill also generates nearly $10 billion in budget savings, at least on paper, because the has the indirect effect of limiting USDA's spending authority under the Commodity Credit Corporation.
The Democratic proposal also calls for funding orphan farm bill programs at existing levels for one year and creating baseline for the Office of Urban Agriculture.
Thompson toldAgri-Pulse Tuesday that there were “intense negotiations underway [over the farm bill extension], and they're ongoing.”He didn’t provide details of the talks, and Republicans haven’t made public the content of their proposals for the extension.“I and certainly all the Republican members of the Ag Committee would be concerned if there is not economic assistance,” Thompson said. “The farm economy is not in good shape right now, and there's a lot of farmers that wouldn't be farming in 2025 because they can't … access credit, to plant a crop or to raise a herd or a flock.
Thompson said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Pa., is “very supportive” of passing some aid for farmers.
In a statement to Agri-Pulse, Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said "it’s important that we provide farmers with the economic assistance they need right away. Our proposal gets billions of dollars of assistance into farmers’ hands by the spring planting season, and it makes a permanent investment in the popular, voluntary conservation programs that farmers want, use, and need.
"And the good news is, it is paid for. I sincerely hope our Republican colleagues will join us in passing this critical assistance along with a one year extension of the farm bill.”
The House Ag Committee’s top Democrat, David Scott of Georgia, said,.“Republicans would be foolish not to seize the opportunity to deliver much-needed funding to our farmers and farm programs."
