Congress passes two-tier stopgap spending measure
The House and Senate passed a two-tier short-term spending resolution.
The legislation sets up two funding deadlines: Agriculture, Energy and Water, MilCon-VA and Transportation-HUD – until Jan 19. The rest of the federal government, including the Pentagon, will be funded until Feb. 2.
The decision to maintain current funding levels made the House bill acceptable to Democrats.
What some conservative and rebel Republicans continue to fail to understand: Any successful spending bill requires Democratic votes to pass the House and Senate and get signed by President Biden.
The House Freedom Caucus opposed the bill for lack of spending reductions and money for the border.
The measure includes an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill through September 2024, and funds 21 “orphan” programs via offsetting funding from USDA’s Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. (See below for details.)
What the stopgap bill does not include: Military aid to Israel, Ukraine or Taiwan, nor border funding or changes in border policy.
Of note: The GOP rebels aren’t threatening to depose Johnson for relying on the minority for passage — which was their reason/excuse for ousting Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), generating three weeks of leaderless chaos. Difference this time? More goodwill for Johnson.
Bottom line: Congress just moved the deadline to January or February when the real shutdown drama could go down. So, again, Congress is dragging this process on for months. Key spending issues must be made in the months ahead. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top House Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said that the two-phase CR “doubles the likelihood of future crises.” Democrats say Republicans should stick to the terms of the June debt-ceiling deal, agreed to by President Biden and former Speaker McCarthy that laid out spending levels for the fiscal year. House conservatives and rebels want spending cuts.
Clock is ticking, again. The House may adjourn Wednesday and would not return until Nov. 28. Under its current calendar, the House isn’t scheduled to be in session during the last two weeks of December and the first week of January, returning Jan. 9. Result: Only 21 legislative days for the House between now and Jan. 19. Johnson said Tuesday he won’t ever pass another short-term government funding bill.
— Details of ag-related programs extended via House CR measure.
· Commodity Programs: The measure would extend commodity support programs through the 2024 crop year for commodities such as wheat, corn, barley, sugarcane, and sugar beets, as well as loan commodities.
It would continue to suspend permanent price support authorities for the 2024 crop year or program year, which would otherwise revert most commodity programs to outdated laws from the 1930s and 1940s.
The measure would extend the Price Loss Coverage program’s payment amounts through the 2024 crop year. The program pays farmers when crop prices or revenue fall below guaranteed amounts, and covers crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans, and cotton.
· Dairy: The measure would extend the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for dairy producers through Dec. 31, 2024.
The Dairy Forward Pricing Program‘s contracts would be extended through Sept. 30, 2027. The program allows milk producers and associations to enter into forward price contracts with milk buyers.
· Conservation: The measure would provide the following mandatory amounts for conservation programs:
* $15 million for the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program.
* $10 million for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program.
· Research: Within 30 days of the bill’s enactment, the measure would provide $10 million from Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds for scholarships for students at 1890 Land-Grant Institutions.
The measure would also allocate $37 million of CCC funds for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.
Other Provisions: The measure also would:
· Rescind $177.3 million for loan guarantees to fund the development, construction, and retrofitting of commercial-scale biorefineries using certain technology.
· Extend the Pima Agriculture Cotton Trust Fund, Agriculture Wool Apparel Manufacturers Trust Fund, and Wool Research and Promotion grants for one year.
· Prohibit the Grazinglands Research Laboratory in Oklahoma to be declared excess or surplus federal property or be transferred through Sept. 30, 2024.
· Extend for one year a requirement for USDA to purchase certain commodities for the Feedstock Flexibility Program, including raw or refined sugar eligible to be marketed in the U.S., and sell them to bioenergy producers.
