Political maneuvering over the five-year-long bill may result in a deferred renewal.
The following article was published in the July-August 2024 issue of NewsNotes.
he rewriting of the Farm Bill, a significant agriculture legislation, may result in a failure to renew the five-year long bill by the time the current iteration expires.
The Farm Bill establishes the program for hundreds of billions of dollars in agricultural subsidies, can incentivize climate change conscious farming practices, and authorizes key international U.S. food aid programs, including those that address both emergency and nonemergency hunger and nutrition needs. It needs to be renewed every five years, with the current form of the Farm Bill expiring at the end of the 2024.
On May 23, the Republican-controlled House Committee on Agriculture released the first working draft of the Farm Bill renewal. The new price tag on the new bill is $1.5 trillion dollars. While the bill has support from U.S. business leaders, faith leaders are concerned that it lacks climate priorities such as funding for methane emissions reduction, carbon soil storage practices, and soil conservation research. In some cases, the bill diverts climate funding to other business interests. It also fails to take into account the power of the Farm Bill to address global hunger.
Opposition to the new version of the Farm Bill is solidifying along party lines in a House with razor thin voting margins. Now, 60 percent of Congressional staffers believe that a five-year farm bill reauthorization is unlikely to pass during this Congress.
Meanwhile, the urgency of a forward-thinking agricultural program remains. As Interfaith Power and Light, an interfaith climate advocacy organization explains, “We need a Farm Bill that prioritizes sustainable farming practices, nutrition programs and dignified treatment for those who work the land.
“Despite overwhelming demand from farmers, this Farm Bill removes the climate “guardrails” that ensure farmers seeking USDA assistance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or build soil carbon receive USDA support. Because of insufficient funding, most farmers continue to be turned away when they seek assistance for climate-smart practices. “We urgently need a Farm Bill that not only supports climate-smart solutions, but also champions equity and justice for those who work the land and those who are hungry.”
Faith in action
Tell your members of Congress to pass a Farm Bill for people and planet. https://mogc.info/farmbill
Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown via Flickr