House Ag Committee Ranking Member Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) has voiced sharp doubts that enough Democrats will support the Farm Bill 2.0 this fall, given the deep spending cuts Republicans have made to nutrition programs as part of the budget reconciliation process. Craig warned that the focus on slashing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to fund farm subsidies has severely undermined the historic bipartisan coalition required to pass farm bills. “I have been clear from the start that if Republicans cut the nutrition title of the farm bill, which is what we consider them having done, that it is going to be difficult to get 100 to 150 Democrats. Impossible,” Craig stated at a recent policy event.
Despite openness from some Democrats to talks with Republicans, there have been no firm commitments to help advance a new farm bill before the current legislation expires in September. Craig and fellow Democrats worry that the White House and Congress are underestimating the damage to bipartisan cooperation caused by the Republicans’ approach.
House Ag Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) plans to introduce detailed bill text and hold a markup after the August recess. But with deep divisions remaining and only a handful of Democrats expressing even conditional support, odds of passing meaningful farm legislation in time are uncertain.
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