The farm bill has been historically bipartisan, and Republicans are ready to back the bill again.
Jonathan D. Salant 7/5 [assistant managing editor, politics, supervise Washington coverage for the Post-Gazette and play a key role in planning and covering the 2024 elections. Former president of the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “Rep. Thompson in middle of action as Congress debates farm bill,” 7/5/23, https://www.bradfordera.com/news/rep-thompson-in-middle-of-action-as-congress-debates-farm-bill/article_7e775006-1b58-11ee-a02b-e36031cc63b5.html //rurallion
Adding to the interest is that few pieces of legislation are expected to pass with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats in the majority in the Senate. The farm bill is an exception.
”It is one of the few pieces of legislation that people suspect will get across the finish line,” said Anne MacMillan, chair of the food and agriculture practice group for Invariant, which last year was paid $36.2 million to lobby — the fifth-highest among all firms, according to the research group OpenSecrets.
”Any entity or lobbyist worth their weight is going to try to pull out all the stops on any moving vehicle,” MacMillan added. “You’ll see the uptick in engagement.”
BIPARTISAN APPROACH
That’s because the bill traditionally brings together Democrats and Republicans — and rural residents and city dwellers — as it combines support for agriculture with funding for nutrition programs.
And Thompson made it clear when he ascended to the committee chairmanship after Republicans took control of the House in January that he was going to continue that tradition.
”I made that clear from the very beginning,” he said. “In the end, it’s always bipartisan and bicameral. We’ll have a better bill and better serve the American people by doing that.”
He dines with Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Minn., and has good relationships with the committee’s ranking Republican, John Boozman of Arkansas, as well as his own panel’s top Democrat, U.S. Rep. David Scott of Georgia.