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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Monday, March 24, 2025
The budget reconciliation bill that congressional Republicans want to pass this year to enact President Donald Trump’s policy priorities and extend expiring tax cuts is emerging as a possible vehicle to enact portions of a new farm bill, including high reference prices.
The Agriculture Department is one of 16 federal departments and agencies that reported improper payments totaling $162 billion in fiscal 2024, including $10.5 billion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at USDA, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., released the text of her draft farm bill on Monday with just weeks remaining in this Congress. The bill would limit the Trump administration's ability to use the Commodity Credit Corporation to compensate farmers for the impact of a new trade war.
The House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill would boost the federal budget deficit by $33 billion over 10 years, according to an official cost estimate released Friday by the Congressional Budget Office, which refused to change its stance on a budget offset intended to fund changes to commodity programs.
The Congressional Budget Office is sticking with a cost estimate for USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation spending authority that is far lower than congressional Republicans need to fund their farm bill proposals. Meanwhile, a leading economist estimates the impact of a base update on land values.
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.
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.
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