When the going gets tough in the Senate, you usually rely on some of the senior members to provide some wisdom and guidance based on their years of experience. One of the senior members of the Senate, Charles Grassley (R-IA) this week shared his perspective and optimism for action on the farm bill, set to expire in September. Senate Ag Committee veteran Chuck Grassley sees a glimmer of hope for a farm bill as reported by Agri-Pulse this week. Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock has told Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., that her proposed reference price increases are too low.
Grassley told reporters Thursday that Warnock’s concerns “might be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.” That said, Grassley thinks there is too little legislative time left this year for the Senate to pass a farm bill, and there’s still the lingering issue of how to pay for the commodity program fixes that Republicans and Warnock want.
Take note: A key funding problem for the GOP is that the Congressional Budget Office doesn’t agree with Republicans on how much money can be saved by restricting use of USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation account.
In Grassley’s view, it would be a mistake for lawmakers to direct CBO to provide the CCC score that Republicans need for the farm bill: “I don't think Congress should dictate to CBO that you’ve just got to come up with this number, because why have a CBO?”
Looking ahead: Republicans have a good shot at winning control of the Senate in November, which would give them more say in writing a farm bill in 2025. But Grassley warns that election outcome is not a given. “I don't know how many times I've been in the Senate, I expected a Republican majority to happen,” and it didn’t, he said.
Grassley’s been in the Senate since 1981, so he’s got some experience in that regard.