Ag Policy Blog

The four principal leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees came out of a meeting Thursday with President Joe Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issuing identical 86-word statements declaring they are going to push ahead for a "2023 farm bill."

In reality, they don't know how to do it – at least not until the debt-limit argument is settled.

The meeting involved Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., chair of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., the committee ranking member, as well as Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.

"Today, the four leaders of the Agriculture Committees had a conversation with President Biden and Secretary Vilsack on the importance of passing a bipartisan Farm Bill this year. The Farm Bill is a jobs bill. It is a safety net for farmers and consumers, and it is an investment in our rural communities and the health of the American people. The Agriculture Committees have a long tradition of bipartisan cooperation, and we look forward to continuing that tradition through our work on the 2023 Farm Bill," the "four corners each issued in their statements.

The joint statement reflects the four get along and are looking for a path forward, but they are trying to thread a needle to pass a $1.5 trillion piece of legislation – the ten-year cost – while Republicans in Congress are demanding spending cuts. Thompson voted for the House bill that would cut $4.8 trillion in spending over ten years while Boozman was among 43 Republican senators who signed on to a letter last week calling for spending cuts as part of any debt-ceiling vote.

Meanwhile Congress left town on Thursday with no agreement on the debt ceiling and a meeting between Biden and congressional leaders was delayed until next week.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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