Won’t be addressed until after the election
Hagstrom, 5/22/2024 (22 May 2024, Jerry Hagstrom, NJ Daily Extra, “Lame duck and cover: Farm bill may wait until after election,” Document CNGA000020240523ek5m00003, factiva database, JMP))
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Wednesday that the House GOP bill is a path to "an impasse," and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the "purely partisan" House bill "has no future in the Senate."
Enter Stabenow. The chairwoman, who will retire at the end of this Congress, has released her own proposal but not draft text. She has said she wants negotiations before scheduling a markup. Stabenow would retain the potential for SNAP-benefit increases, move the IRA conservation money into the farm bill, and slightly increase the reference prices that trigger farm subsidies. She would spend only $5 billion more than current farm-bill spending.
The 2018 farm bill has been extended through Sept. 30. Failure to pass a new bill would require another extension.
The chances for the farm bill being finished this year depend on the election. If Democrats regain control of the House, Thompson might want to compromise so he can claim authorship. If Republicans regain the Senate, Democrats might want to write a bill before Stabenow retires. So be prepared to wait for the lame duck.