House members debate farm bill during hearing on farm country challenges

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) said the farm bill his committee passed earlier this year responds to the challenges facing farm country, though the farm bill debate remains stalled.

At the Hearing: During a committee hearing on financial conditions in farm country, Thompson said he wants to see legislative text from Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) before negotiations on the farm bill can continue. Ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.) said a key issue remains how to pay for the draft farm bill, while several members urged passage of a new farm bill this year.

House-Senate Debate: Ahead of the hearing, Stabenow released a blog post that said the farm bill should respect the needs of farmers in every region and every state. During his opening statement, Thompson said the Senate Agriculture Committee should release the text of its version of the farm bill before House-Senate negotiations can continue. “I cannot reconcile nor negotiate a bipartisan 900-page bill with a partisan 90-page summary,” he said.

ICBA View: ICBA supports passage of a new farm bill with enhancements to USDA farm programs, including higher loan limits on USDA guaranteed loans and a quicker approval process on USDA guaranteed farm loans. ICBA also continues to express strong opposition to several proposals to expand Farm Credit System authorities.

Grassroots Push Continues: ICBA continues encouraging community banks to use its Be Heard grassroots action center to call and write their members of Congress on the industry’s farm bill priorities as the debate continues.