Former House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson is calling on House GOP leaders to find the votes to pass the next farm bill not in the conservative flank of the Republican Party, but among the chamber's more moderate members.
Former House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson told AgriPulse that a farm bill won’t be done by the end of September, when funding for many farm bill programs expires. But if lawmakers can’t come together to make something happen by December, then it will become a “bigger problem.”
Peterson says both sides are working on “noncontroversial stuff” right now; bigger ticket items can start to be addressed closer to when the farm bill might ultimately move.
One of those more controversial provisions is certain to be how the legislation handles the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This week, Democrats on the House Ag Committee sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., warning him if the GOP continues the SNAP reforms pursued by many conservatives, it could jeopardize the passage of a farm bill.
“[Democrats] are just asking for not undermining the program,” Peterson said.
Some GOP members are pushing for reforms beyond the eligibility changes enacted in the debt ceiling deal secured earlier this summer between McCarthy and President Joe Biden.
Peterson noted this issue has caused problems in past farm bill debates on the House floor, specifically citing the farm bills defeated in the chamber in 2013 and 2018. If Republicans continue to push for more changes, Peterson cautioned, “they'll have another failure.”