Senate Ag Panel Leaders Seek More Farm Bill Spending Via Reserve Fund
Request comes in budget views and estimates letter
The Senate Agriculture Committee is requesting additional funding via a reserve fund to enable the panel to write the next farm bill. Panel leaders said they reached that conclusion after holding a series of 12 hearings on the farm bill and “it became clear that additional financial resources will be necessary to strengthen our farm and food safety nets.”
The budget views and estimates letter for fiscal year (FY) 2024 (link) pointed to the $90 billion in ad hoc disaster assistance paid to farmers and ranchers since FY 2018 as another factor. “A commitment to additional financial resources for the farm bill will help to transition our farm and food supplies away from ad hoc support,” the letter stated.
“The Committee also respectfully requests the inclusion of a reserve fund in the FY 24 budget resolution to provide budget flexibility should our spending authority be increased.”
The letter also raises questions about the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts released earlier this year which have commodity prices declining more than expected and more than those issued by the administration as part of its FY 2024 budget request. They note that it has taken more than a year for a score from CBO of farm bill-related legislation, saying such delays “hinder the ability” of the panel to consider improvements in programs. As for CBO’s price forecasts that are lower than those from USDA and others, the letter said, “estimates of changes to risk management tools in the Farm Bill will likely reflect greater increases in direct spending than if CBO commodity price projections and trajectories were more in line with those of leading industry experts.”
The letter also cited the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Covid pandemic as factors that have highlighted the need for “resilient food supply chains and comprehensive risk management tools available to farmers and ranchers.”
The letter urges no funding reductions for the panel to write the next farm bill. “As the Committee on the Budget considers federal spending for FY 2024, we ask that you help us maintain certainty for agriculture producers, families, and rural communities, and propose no cuts to food and agriculture spending,” the letter said.
The letter from the Ag panel comes as Politico is reporting the committee plans to gear up action after the Easter break on the farm bill, with a tentative schedule of five hearings by panel subcommittees: April 19 —a nutrition focus by the Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics and Research Subcommittee; April 20 — a conservation focus by the Conservation, Climate, Forestry and Natural Resources Subcommittee; April 27 — a crop insurance and farm credit focus by the Commodities, Risk Management and Trade Subcommittee; May 2 — a commodity groups focus by the Commodities, Risk Management and Trade Subcommittee; and May 17 — a broadband focus by the Rural Development and Energy Subcommittee.
