For the first time, Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow says she’ll push a new farm bill further into the future rather than strike a deal with Republicans on SNAP and climate spending changes.
The Fence Post reports Stabenow won’t agree to limit any updates to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or cut any climate-smart conservation money in the Inflation Reduction Act. “I’m not going to do it,” she said. “If that means we continue the policies of the 2018 Farm Bill, which were pretty good if I do say so myself, then that’s okay.”
Stabenow sat next to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack during an event at the White House this week, and he said, “You’re tough. That’s great.” Stabenow has said privately for months that her legacy depends on protecting climate funding as well as not cutting anti-hunger programs.
The current farm bill authorization expires at the end of September.