Stabenow Proposes $20 Billion Farm Bill Solution?
Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) opened the door to shifting almost $20 billion from her party’s climate and tax credit law enacted last year to more general spending in the upcoming farm bill. Her comments came during a Bloomberg Government panel discussion.
Republicans have long eyed the conservation money initially reserved for climate-smart farm conservation programs as a source for general spending. Stabenow has now signaled openness to moving some of these funds to the baseline portion of the farm bill, so long as they remain climate focused.
Work training provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) should be updated to help recipients most effectively, Stabenow, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), and House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) signaled. While stricter work requirements for the farm bill are off the table, Stabenow suggests that states need to improve their SNAP employment and training programs.
Thompson is aiming for a markup of the House farm bill version in September. However, “anybody can get a farm bill done if you watered it down to the point of being meaningless,” he said. “We’re not doing that. We are setting a high bar.”
Stabenow couldn’t give a date for when the committee will release a draft. But “there’s always been a short-term extension,” she told Bloomberg, clarifying that “on time” for past farm bills hasn’t meant exactly on time. “That would not surprise me, but I feel very comfortable.”
