Farm Bill

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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.   

There are a lot of new details now about the farm bill that Republicans plan to push through the House Agriculture Committee next week. Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., on Friday afternoon released a 38-page section-by-section summary on his draft and is expected to release more detail later this week.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson prepares to release the text of his draft farm bill as he seeks to lure some Democratic votes for the legislation ahead of the panel’s May 23 debate.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee are proposing to raise Price Loss Coverage reference prices by 10% to 20% depending on the commodity, while also providing increased income protection to growers under the Agriculture Risk Coverage program and crop insurance, according to a section-by-section summary released Friday.

There’s a big push this year to bolster the farm safety net by raising premium subsidies for high levels of area insurance coverage, and the idea has gotten traction in both the House and Senate.