Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman says there’s still a good chance Congress could pass a new farm bill during the lame duck session, with committee leaders working toward a bipartisan agreement. He says President Trump supports getting a bill done and farmers don’t want another one-year extension.
The chairman of the U.S. Senate Ag Committee says there’s still a fair chance a farm bill could make it across the finish line in the lame duck session.
John Boozman says there’s going to be a big push as lawmakers return to Washington D.C.
“I think we’ll see a lot of farmers on Capitol Hill in the next week or two, again, talking directly to members of Congress and saying, whether they’re Republicans or Democrats, you need to vote for this thing.”
Speaking at the University of Arkansas on Friday, he said the four leaders of the agriculture committees have been meeting to craft a bill that will pass through both chambers.
“There’s 10 percent (of the bill) we probably won’t be able to agree on,” he says. “Then, you move it up and leadership gets involved to Senator Schumer and Senator Thune, and Thune wants a farm bill passed as much as anyone in this room, ok?”
Boozman says he talked to President Trump in October about the farm bill.
“I think the President will be good with whatever we come up with and he really wants to get a farm bill done. He realizes how important it is for rural America.”
Boozman says farmers don’t want another one-year extension of the current farm bill and he doesn’t either. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to return to Washington D.C. following the November election, starting Monday, November 9.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
It is great to hear this type of optimism coming from the Chair of the Senate Ag Committee. However, reaching an agreement on funding for SNAP is the real showstopper. Unless that issue can be resolved amicably, it is unlikely we will have an agreement which means no farm bill. Time will tell. Fortunately, you have tools at your disposal through being a CAD member that will help farmers/ranchers be in a better position. Programs like AgPack®, AgTruckTrader.com®, CADFI, and CAD Protect are each designed to help you sell more trucks.
