AFBF: Ag Dollars Could Be Held Up By Three Way Fight In DC

Tens of billions of dollars for agriculture hangs in the balance as lawmakers in Washington D.C. fight over the size, scope and timing of key bills intended to keep the government funded as well as expand the size of federal programs. Fights between the parties and among Democrats stand in the way of $65 billion for rural broadband, $10 billion for Ag disaster aid, and many billions more for roads, bridges, ports, pipes and waterways. American Farm Bureau’s Emily Buckman said the first problem is getting the Senate to pass the House-passed stop-gap with the disaster aid, to avert an October 1^st government shutdown and a possible U.S. credit default.

“It’s hard to tell at this point what Congress will do, but we do believe that everyone should come together and get a bill past the finish line, that’ll get us beyond that September 30 point.”

Senate Republicans vow to vote against the bill in a bid to deprive Democrats of the funding for their $3.5 trillion tax and spending bill. The Farm Bureau worries the expansion of the government laid out by that spending bill will hurt farm country through tax hikes.

But the fight over the President’s “Build Back Better” Agenda is tied to the $1+ trillion bipartisan Senate-passed infrastructure bill AFBF backs. However, the progressive wing of the Democrat party has vowed to oppose the road, bridge and broadband bill if it’s voted next week before the bigger bill, as leadership has promised.

“It sounds like it will get delayed, according to reports, and as far as President Biden’s other piece of legislation, he’s trying to get to the finish line, there’s a lot in that process, and there’s still a lot left to do to get that piece of legislation pieced together," including opposition by key Senate and some House moderates to the tax and spending bill. 

Could the fight over the bigger bill imperil the infrastructure measure? Buckman said that’s a possibility, but only time will tell.

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