House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson is pushing back against Democrats’ attacks on his farm bill proposal, set for committee markup Thursday (May 23, 2024).
Thompson argues his newly named Farm, Food, and National Security Act is bipartisan, despite multiple claims from top House and Senate Ag Democrats that it isn’t.
“It is built in a bipartisan way, a transparent open process, and we’ve got, I’ve got provisions I put into the chairman’s ‘mark’ that come from both Republicans and Democrats and quite frankly, the industry.”
Top Ag Democrats held a strategy meeting ahead of the planned farm bill mark-up. Afterward, they issued a statement saying that Thompson didn’t listen to them. Thompson’s response….
“Let’s not bring the politics to the Agriculture Committee, like there are some folks that are trying to do that. Let’s stay on the practical side, the policy side, and get this passed so we can find a pathway to the floor, and quite frankly, provide something, maybe some type of model or example for the Senate to follow.”
Retiring Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow has said repeatedly that she won’t let her legacy be reducing food stamp benefits to pay for farm programs. Thompson and the republicans counter that nutrition programs, which make up over 80% of the cost of a farm bill, need to be reformed and the farm safety net, trade, and research need a boost.
“I would hope that all members, Republican and Democrat, recognize the urgency, the struggles, and the challenges. It’s almost been unprecedented what our farmers and ranchers have been up against over the past six years.”
Thompson says that urgency also extends to conservation, where the Ag committees need to claim $14 billion in remaining Inflation Reduction Act dollars for the farm bill. Otherwise, he says, that money will be lost forever.
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