By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

As the deadline nears for Congress to pass a new farm bill before the current extension expires, U.S. Representatives express their concerns over the lack of movement on the food and farm legislation.

In a recent hearing on financial conditions in farm country, U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson said he is open to informal farm bill negotiations with Senate Agriculture Committee leadership .

“I am tired of the politics and gamesmanship, and I know folks out in the countryside are, too,” Thompson said in a statement. “House Ag Committee Democrats expressed a preference to see a bill fail before engaging. So, I will say again: if there are members on the other side of the aisle that truly want to see a farm bill come to fruition this year, my door remains open to negotiation from any partner willing to come to the table with a serious proposal, not more red lines.”

Thompson said that while an informal pre-conference negotiation with the Senate is not his preferred option, he is open to it, and he emphasized the need for a comprehensive bill.

“I cannot reconcile nor negotiate a bipartisan 900-page bill with a partisan 90-page summary. For that to be viable, Chairwoman Stabenow needs to unveil her bill text,” Thompson said.

The House Ag Committee advanced its version of the farm bill in May.

Thompson said it will likely be September before the bill is considered by the full House.

The timing of the legislation has come into question after House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to cancel the appropriations votes and send lawmakers into August recess a week early.

House Agriculture Ranking Member David Scott criticized the move, saying the House will be busy considering those appropriations packages in September now.

“By sending the House into recess early, Speaker Johnson once again proves that his dysfunctional Republican leadership is the biggest obstacle to passing a truly bipartisan farm bill,” Scott said in a statement. “Chairman Thompson wanted the House to pass the farm bill in September once the appropriations process was completed. The inability to finish the appropriations process means September will be taken up trying to keep the government open and casts even more doubt on the committee’s bill reaching the House floor.”

There are few legislative days left in the year to pass a modernized farm bill that protects food security and the future success of farmers and ranchers.

“Texas Farm Bureau members have expressed significant challenges as they continue trying to produce food, fuel and fiber for consumers. We call on Congressional leaders to come together, end the political theater, and pass Chairman G.T. Thompson’s bipartisan farm bill out of the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as possible to put us a step closer to a final bill,” Laramie Adams, Texas Farm Bureau associate director  of Government Affairs, said. “Our farmers and ranchers do so much to ensure consumers do not have to worry about their food supply. The least we can do for them in return is provide an adequate safety net with a new farm bill.” 

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. John Boozman, ranking member of the committee, released their farm bill priorities, but neither have presented a draft text.

The farm bill extension expires at the end of September.

Learn more about the farm bill at fb.org/farmbill.