Articles Tagged with ''farm bill''

Republicans pushed their $1.5 trillion farm bill through the House Agriculture Committee early Friday with the help of four critical Democratic votes, giving the massive legislation some momentum as it heads to an uncertain future in the full House.

The House Agriculture Committee is set to debate its Republican farm bill, starting at 11 a.m. EDT. The big question isn’t whether the committee will approve the bill. Republicans should have the votes on their side to do that. The question is how many Democratic votes Republicans can get.  

In this opinion piece, House Agriculture Committee Democrat Nikki Budzinski of Illinois argues that the GOP majority’s farm bill would harm families and fail farmers because of the way it is structured and funded.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sharply criticized House Republicans’ proposed farm bill  Wednesday, saying they are relying on “budget gimmicks” to fund legislation that overpromises but will not deliver for producers.

USDA is awarding commodity groups the first $300 million in trade promotion grants under a $1.2 billion initiative known as the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program and funded through the department’s Commodity Credit Corporation spending authority.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee are set to push their farm bill through the panel this with week, but the big question is whether they will have the Democratic support they would need to give the mammoth legislation some momentum heading to the House floor.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee are proposing to spend more than $50 billion to shore up commodity programs and crop insurance, including a reference price increase of nearly 20% for soybean producers. But Republicans are relying on help from the chairman of the House Budget Committee in covering the cost of the increased subsidies, according to committee aides.   

Democratic members of the House Agriculture Committee met with Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday afternoon and left reiterating concerns about the GOP farm bill proposal.