Republicans and ag groups in Washington D.C. are making a last-minute push to include economic farm aid in the stopgap spending bill that will avoid a government shutdown.
The last gasp campaign for farm aid comes as farmers are faced with another one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill instead of an updated and modernized five-year farm bill, due to partisan disagreement.
United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says that regardless of what happens, the farm safety net remains of paramount importance.
Grassley says that the partisan disagreement about including economic aid for farmers in the spending bill is just a continuing argument of the farm bill discourse in 2024.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised help is on the way for farmers. “What you’ll see reflected in this final package is $10 billion to start,” Johnson says. “In addition, USDA moved some things around and has added $2 billion for specialty crops they announced in late November, all of which means help is coming.” Partisan differences over how to pay for a ten-billion-dollar farm aid package tanked a deal over the weekend.
Senator Grassley says that farmers have dealt with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the farm bill and deserve at least some level of certainty with the farm safety net.
Senator Chuck Grassley made his comments on Tuesday morning during his weekly ag conference call with farm broadcasters and reporters.
