After a week of high drama, lawmakers cleared a stopgap spending bill that includes $21 billion in ag disaster assistance, $10 billion in market relief for farmers, and a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. Dropped from the bill was a debt limit increase that President-elect Donald Trump had demanded.
The House approved the bill on a 366-34 vote Friday evening and then early Saturday morning the Senate cleared the measure, 85-11, for President Joe Biden's signature, averting a partial government shutdown.
The votes followed three days of internal battling among Republicans after multibillionaire Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump intervened to block a massive and bipartisan agreement that also included a series of smaller bills, one of which would have allowed the year-round use of E15.
The measure the House ultimately approved would keep the government funded through March 14.
“We will not have a government shutdown, and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, for making sure that military and essential services, and everyone who relies on the government for a paycheck, is paid over the holidays,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared earlier Friday afternoon after his GOP colleagues agreed on the strategy.
House Republicans considered stripping disaster aid and the ag economic assistance from the legislation and putting those items to separate votes but ultimately decided to keep that money together with the farm bill extension and the continuing resolution needed to keep the government funded after midnight.
"Right now, ... there's got to be bankers that are calling farmers and saying, okay, you know, because of what Congress just did, we're going to lend you the money you need to produce your crop next year in 2025," House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., told Agri-Pulse after the House vote.
He had opposed putting the $10 billion in farm aid to a separate vote for fear it might not survive the Senate.
“To me that was just risky,” Thompson said. “I don’t know how much some of the senators care about agriculture, and that’s what I expressed.”
The bill includes $100 billion in disaster assistance overall, $21 billion of which is for agricultural losses from hurricanes, wildfire and other weather events. The additional $10 billion in ag economic assistance is to be distributed to row crop farmers. Commodities would be eligible for payments if the gross revenue for the 2024 crop is below the cost of production.
GOP lawmakers agreed to leave the debt limit increase Trump demanded to a budget reconciliation bill Republicans plan to push through Congress early next year. The debt limit increase would be paired with $2.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, lawmakers said.
Cut through the clutter! We deliver the news you need to stay informed about farm, food and rural issues. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse here.
Thompson said he didn't think that any farm bill spending other than the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be targeted by the reconciliation cuts. "There's efficiencies to be had in SNAP where quite frankly ... nobody's benefits would be impacted," he said.
On Thursday, the House soundly rejected, 174-235, a Republican proposal that included the debt-limit increase Trump had demanded.
Republicans had opted for that plan after Musk and Trump on Wednesday blasted a much larger, bipartisan bill that also included many policy priorities for both parties, including the E15 provision.
A senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, was pleased with the outcome Friday and said the legislation had a number of “Democratic wins.”
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk lost. Trump's big issue was the lifting of the debt ceiling. He didn't get it,” McGovern said.
The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Zippy Duvall, on Friday afternoon issued a statement urging Congress to pass the disaster assistance and economic aid.
“Congress must deliver aid to help farmers hit by natural disasters, a farm bill extension, economic aid to bridge the gap for farmers until we get a new farm bill, and authorization for year-round E-15, which provides a market for farm goods and comes at no cost to the government," Duvall said.
“The gymnastics happening in our nation’s capital are a disservice to the American people. Shutting down the government would only increase the hardship for farmers trying to access programs they need to operate their farms and increase conservation efforts."
The removal of the E15 provision was a disappointment for the ethanol industry and corn producers.
“Corn growers are deeply disappointed that a permanent, year-round E15 solution was not included in the end-of-year legislation package,” said Kenneth Hartman Jr., president of the National Corn Growers Association.
“This no-cost provision would have provided a market-driven solution to farmers experiencing low corn prices. We call upon legislators to address this matter quickly in the start of the new Congress and fix this issue once and for all.”
This report was updated at 12:45 a.m. Saturday with Senate action.
Lydia Johnson and Oliver Ward contributed to this report.
