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Thompson: farm bill work still expected in March

The Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee says March is the first month there would be enough time to work on the new farm bill in the House, but there are no guarantees.

Glenn “G.T” Thompson tells Brownfield the mark up and voting process takes at least three weeks.

“I don’t think March is out of the question in the House right now, but I suspect the Senate will need more time the rest of this year.”

Thompson says most of the farm bill is completed, but work continues on the commodities title.

“We need the cost estimates to see how much financial resources we need to make any adjustments.”

And Thompson says reinvesting the $14.5 in conservation funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is still on the table.

“If we used the money for the farm bill, this money would continue for perpetuity and it would be around in 2050 or 2055,” he says. “Another option for funding is strengthening Congress’ article one authority and that’s through a forward-thinking Thrifty Food Plan market basket update.”

Thompson says this update wouldn’t adjust Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and he’s optimistic other lawmakers can keep an open mind.

“The only way to do this is to find ways to fund this within our areas of jurisdiction.”