Senate Republican Whip John Thune said Wednesday that another one-year farm bill extension will likely be needed amid the ongoing partisan gridlock over current proposals.
Passing an extension would enable lawmakers to "start fresh" in a new Congress next year, Thune told reporters in his home state at DakotaFest in Mitchell, South Dakota. Thune ranks second in the Senate GOP leadership and is a leading contender to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader, Thune said he has not seen any signals from Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., indicating she intends to move a bill through committee, or from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about putting a farm bill on the floor.
"I just don't see any evidence that any of that's happened," Thune said. "I wish it were otherwise, but it seems to me that we do another year, another extension, and this gets punted again.”
Congress extended the farm bill one year last year. Authority for some programs is set to expire as soon as Sept. 30. Lawmakers would need to act on extension by the end of the year to avoid triggering laws dating back to 1938 and 1949 that would force USDA to take steps in 2025 to dramatically raise the price of milk, wheat and other commodities.
What the farm bill process could look like next year will depend on the outcomes of this November's election.
Republicans have a shot at winning back control of the Senate. If that happens, Arkansas Republican John Boozman would become chair of the Senate Ag Committee and could pursue a different farm bill than the one proposed by Stabenow this spring.
"I don't like the fact that we're kicking the can down the road again, but I do think that next year we're going to be in a better position to get a bill that's more to our liking," Thune said.