Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman continues to hold out hope for getting a Farm Bill update across the finish line despite setbacks. Boozman says American farmers need Congress to finish the job.
“We spent a couple of years going around the country talking to farmers, and the things we heard about were a need for getting more farm in the Farm Bill. We were able to do that, and several other things, to the tune of about 68 billion dollars.”
When he introduced the GOP-backed writeup, Boozman had hoped to get it out of committee before the Senate’s August recess. But Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell remains in rehab after recovering from a fall and that leaves Republicans shorthanded in a chamber that needs every caucus member to have a hope of passing anything. With the bill carried to victory by the House Ag Chair, Boozman now carries the baton on the Senate side.
“We are going to continue the momentum that GT Thompson has worked so hard to produce. We’ve got a little harder situation in the Senate with a 60-vote threshold, making sure we can attract enough Democrats to get passed and keep our members together.”
The Arkansas Republican remains ever the optimist.
“The good news is is that most people in Congress understand how desperate it is in farm country. This is a generational problem. Food security is national security. We don’t want to get ourselves in a situation where we’re dependent on the rest of the world for the food that we eat.”