American Farm Bureau’s Director of Government Affairs Joe Gilson says Farm Bureau has been told House GOP leadership wants FY 2025 spending bills out of the way before a farm bill.
“Right now, I think the House is really focused on next year’s appropriations process. And they really want to get through that, before they entertain a bill on the House floor.”
But that puts new spending bills and the one-year farm bill extension on a collision course for the same September 30th deadline.
“We’re starting to hear some extension talk, but remember, a lot of the farm bill programs, while the expiration is September 30th, they run ‘til the end of the year. So, really, we need an extension by the end of the year.”
Gilson says an early extension’s off the table unless Ag leaders don’t see a pathway to a five-year bill this year. Meantime, AFB’s encouraged by top GOP Senator John Boozman’s new framework after the House marked up its bill.
“We think that there are very similar provisions, and we really like a lot of the language Ranking Member Boozman uses in terms of increasing support in the farm safety net.”
With an average 15 percent hike in reference prices for all covered commodities, improvements to ARC, crop insurance support, and base acre reforms.
But Gilson acknowledges stark policy differences remain on SNAP spending updates, CCC spending discretion, and more. House Ag top Democrat David Scott in a statement after the Boozman release, warned again, a farm bill with the GOP proposal to pare SNAP “will never become law.”