The Senate Ag Committee Chair says farm bill negotiations can start as soon as Republican leaders release their priorities.
Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow tells Brownfield, “I’ve not seen anything specific from my Ranking Member yet, so I’m anxious to see that in order to have a negotiation.”
“I need to see proposals from my Republican colleague, and I’ve not yet seen them,” she explains.
Stabenow says the House version goes back to government payments and she expects it to split a farm and food coalition of rural and urban lawmakers.
“The chairman has put forward a bill that divides the coalition and it is not going to be able to get the votes to pass on the floor,” she says. “There will be very few Democrats voting for that.”
Stabenow says the House’s bill cuts food assistance and conservation funding while increasing the Commodity Title by 70 percent and crop insurance by only 10 percent.
Stabenow says Congress is running out of time to pass a farm bill and if lawmakers can’t come to an agreement, another extension is likely.
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