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Rep. Budzinski says farm bill extension to be tied to federal budget

A member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee says a farm bill extension will likely be tied to the federal budget process.

Illinois Representative Nikki Budzinski says Congress is reconvening from the August recess this week with a tight calendar.

“I think the expectation is that a farm bill extension could likely be wrapped up into a CR, a continuing resolution, that keeps our government funded.”  She says, “That’s what happened with the last extension. I would expect that probably will happen again this September.”

She tells Brownfield avoiding another government shutdown has become the top priority.

“It should be a pretty simple process, as far as getting us to a short-term resolution, so that we can have a more robust budget discussion after the election,” she says.

Budzinski says that’s likely when the farm bill will be reapproached.

“Which will change the dynamic of a farm bill,” she says.

The current farm bill extension expires at the end of the month.

Budzinski spoke with reporters at the University of Illinois on Monday.