Echoing views expressed by community banking advocates, Senate
Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) stressed the need for
movement from Congress toward passing the next iteration of the “Farm Bill.”
Stabenow urged legislators to move past ongoing political
disagreements over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which have
been a long-standing obstacle to passing the legislation, which includes
several elements supported by rural financial institutions.
“Year-to-year changes in SNAP spending do not take
away funding for other Farm Bill programs,” Stabenow wrote in a blog post. “Similarly,
year-to-year changes in spending for crop insurance and commodity programs
during disasters or economic downturns do not take funding away from SNAP.”
The senator cited the use of misleading statistics by those
opposed to the SNAP program as an example of the types of political games
standing in the way of bipartisan legislation benefitting borrowers in rural
America and the institutions that serve them.
Following a markup of the House version of the bill, the
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) noted its support for several
provisions intended to enhance policies affecting commodity prices and crop
insurance supports, though there are concerning provisions.
“A few of the bill’s positive aspects include enhancements
to commodity price supports, strengthening of the crop insurance program, and
bolstering of USDA guaranteed loan programs with ICBA-advocated provisions,”
ICBA wrote in a letter to Congress in May. “These improvements for guaranteed
farm loan programs include an increase in loan limits and quicker loan
approvals, among other policies that will help producers repay loans, protect
assets, and afford expanded credit to sustain farm and ranch operations.”
However, the trade group also noted its opposition to the bill’s
provisions to expand the Farm Credit System’s nonfarm lending authority and
disparate regulatory treatment. ICBA noted in a blog post that it has been the
only national banking trade group to express its opposition to such an
expansion.
Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman
(R-Ark.) proposed a framework for the legislation meant to appeal to
Republican but with common ground with counterparts across the aisle on key
priorities. The framework is meant to build on momentum from the House
Agriculture Committee’s passage of its version of the farm bill.
“From the onset of this process, we have sought to draft a
farm bill that reflects the needs of stakeholders,” Boozman said in a statement
on his website. “The world has changed dramatically since the 2018 bill became
law, and the unprecedented challenges and economic uncertainty that farmers
face now are only projected to get worse in the coming years. This is why
producers have been calling on senators to put more farm in the farm bill.
“Our framework released today meets that call by modernizing
the farm safety net, facilitating the expansion of access to overseas markets,
fostering breakthroughs in agricultural research and growing the rural
communities our farmers, ranchers and foresters call home – all while making a
historic investment in conservation and protecting nutrition programs that help
Americans in need.”
Stabenow last month released a
section-by-section breakdown of her farm bill priorities and said she
would like to negotiate with Republicans before her committee schedules a
markup.