Let the Farm Bill Debate Begin

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) has made no secret about his intentions of getting a new farm bill in place before the current 2014 legislation expires on September 30.

He touted H.R. 2: The Agriculture & Nutrition Act of 2018 – the House version of the proposed farm bill – as “the product of a three-year process, including 114 hearings, six listening sessions in the field and countless meetings with folks representing Americans served by every facet of the farm bill.”

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All seemed to be on schedule despite concerns about aspects of the proposed SNAP nutrition program and the likelihood that passage would come with all Republican votes. The bill went to the House floor for debate and vote the week of May 14. Yet after defeating amendments that would have eliminated or weakened current farm policy, politics – led by leadership of the House Freedom Caucus using the legislation as leverage for commitments regarding immigration – led to the bill’s failure by a vote of 213 to 198.

“We experienced a setback today after a streak of victories all week,” Conaway said in a statement following the vote. “We may be down, but we are not out. We will deliver a strong, new farm bill on time as the President of the United States has called on us to do. Our nation’s farmers and ranchers and rural America deserve nothing less.

“I say all of this because I am not always certain that everyone in Washington fully appreciates just how much is at stake here – and just how precarious the situation is right now in farm country,” he added.

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What’s In It for Cotton?

When looking at any new proposed legislation, Reece Langley points out that the budget environment for the farm bill is extremely tight.

“Neither the Senate or House Ag Committees have any new money, and, in fact, they have a number of programs in the bill that do not have a baseline,” explains Langley, vice president, Washington Operations for the National Cotton Council (NCC). “They have to find money if they want to continue those programs in the new farm bill. So they’re really starting out in the hole. That being said, there are some cotton policy improvements and recommendations that the industry has adopted that we’ve been working in both the House and Senate committees to try to get included in their version.”

Langley notes that no changes were made to the seed cotton policy, and that the reference price and acres remain the same. But some of the changes for cotton included:

  • An improvement to the upland cotton marketing loan. A 2% limitation, or floor, on how much the loan rate could decline in any one year was added to keep it from dropping significantly if cotton gets into a low price situation.
  • An increase in the loan rate for ELS or Pima cotton. Since ELS cotton is not eligible for ARC or PLC, their only safety net is the loan program. Increasing the loan rate increase to be more reflective of where market prices have been will help improve cash flow for ELS producers.
  • The Economic Adjustment Assistance Program for U.S. textile mills. The program, which pays U.S. mills based on the amount of cotton they’re using, will see a proposed increase to 3.15 cents per pound of cotton used (up from 3 cents per pound).
  • The Pima Cotton Trust Fund. The program, which does not have a baseline, is extended in the House bill, but only at half of its current funding level – from $16 million to $8 million.

What’s Next?

Following the House vote, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) made a motion to reconsider the vote on the farm bill, which allows the House to call up the bill for another vote. At this time, June 22 appears to be the likely date.

Meanwhile, Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) are working to craft a Senate draft of the farm bill for committee consideration, possibly in June.

“Our view is they will get a bipartisan bill out of the Senate Ag Committee, and Leader McConnell (R-KY) has indicated that he’s committed to providing floor time in the Senate to take up the farm bill,” says Langley. “I don’t think the Senate is going to attempt to do much, if anything, as far as SNAP changes, and that should help keep that bill very bipartisan. But when they get to conference with the House, even Chairman Conaway has acknowledged that the final bill won’t go as far as the House bill does to try to address some of the SNAP concerns.

Langley hoped that both the Senate and House versions of the bill would be finalized by July. That would allow them to go to conference committee by August and into the fall to try to work out differences. Realistically, a final package might be ready, but not voted on, until maybe the Lame Duck session.

“I think there’s commitment that’s needed at all of the different levels of the House and Senate to see this process move forward,” adds Langley.

The NCC and its interest organizations and membership across the seven industry segments will continue working with Cotton Belt Representatives and Senators to help promote and advance the farm bill through both the House and Senate in the coming weeks.

 

From Cotton Grower Magazine, May/June 2018

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