On May 23, the House Agriculture Committee held a markup of H.R. 8467 the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, and passed the bill out of the Committee with some bipartisan support 33-21. All Committee Republicans and four Democrats including, Representatives Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), Don Davis (D-NC), Eric Sorenson (D-IL), and Sanford Bishop (D-GA) voted for the bill. Along with a set of en block amendments, there were four additional amendments accepted. The billwill now require a vote on the floor of the House before it can advance to the Senate.
Below is a summary of the hearing prepared by Delta Strategy Group. It includes several high-level takeaways, followed by summaries of opening statements and a summary of all proposed and accepted amendments.
Key Takeaways
- Democrats generally expressed concerns with freezes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, changes to environmental and conservation programs, and restricting the USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s use of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funding.
- Republicans expressed general unity for the farm bill as proposed and urged Committee Democrats to vote for the bill.
SUMMARY
Opening Statements
Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA)
- From production to processing to delivery and consumption, this billstrengthens the rural economy across every region, every state, and every congressional district. Over the past few decades, the farm safety net has lost its ability to protect those who are backbone of our great nation. The Farm Food and National Security Act of 2024 provides historic long-term investments in conversation programming of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) through conservation dollars.
Ranking Member David Scott (D-GA)
- The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 does not support American families and is a bad bill. Republicans are attempting to prevent USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack from using CCC funding in the future, which is used to support our American farmers. I will not support this bill as it is misguided.
Representative Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Both Chairman Thompson (R-PA) and Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) farm bills reflect the importance of food security programs. Congress must work together in a bipartisan fashion to pass the farmbill.
Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS)
- As written, this bill is unrealistic and will not be passed. Congress must work in a more bipartisan manner to get the farm bill across the floor.
Representative John Rose (R-TN)
- I commend the Chairman for including the Agricultural Fiber Products Trust Fund, which will establish a baseline of 50 million annually to support wool apparel manufacturers and Pima cotton activities.
Representative Eric Sorenson (D-IL)
- Through biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel, agriculture will pave the way for sustainable farming. I support strengthening crop insurance and reference prices. However, there are serious concerns from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the way we pay for them in this farmbill.
Representative Max Miller (R-OH)
- I support efforts of the Committee to expand markets for sustainable aviation fuel by including key provisions from the Farm to Fly Act within the farm bill.
Representative Mary Miller (R-IL)
- This bill keeps our commitment to rural America by protecting crop insurance, increasing reference prices, and strengthening rural broadband.
Representative Angie Craig (R-OH)
- I am willing to negotiate moving funds from the Inflation Reduction Act into the conservation title baseline, but they must have climate-smart guidelines to ensure the intention remains the same.
AMENDMENTS
Accepted Amendments:
- En Block Amendments, Including:
- Representative Max Miller’s Amendment (R-OH): This amendment would facilitate collaboration across USDA to capture opportunities for the SAF market and empower American agriculture from fuel to flight.
- Representative David Rouzer’s Amendment (R-NC): This amendment would require a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to address illegal shrimp imports and related inspections, as well as policy to support the domestic industry.
- Representative Doug LaMalfa’s Amendment (R-CA): This amendment provides a categorical exclusion for electric utility lines right-of-way for the development and approval of a vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan and the implementation of routine activities conducted under such plan.
- Representative Dusty Johnson’s Amendment (R-SD): This amendment adds language to the Forestry Title facilitating communication authorizations, such as broadband installation, or previously analyzed National Forest System lands.
- Representative David Rouzer’s Amendment (R-NC): This amendment eliminates any duplicative permitting process for the use of approved pesticides while maintaining public health and environmental protections.
Amendments:
- Representative Sanford Bishop’s Amendment (D-GA): This amendment would strike section 1608, which limits the CCC’s authority.
- This amendment was rejected.
- Representative Dusty Johnson’s Amendment (R-SD): This amendment amends the Commodity Title by providing for a one-time mandatory update of base acres.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Angie Craig’s Amendment (D-MN): This amendment would gear the voluntary base acre update towards young and beginning farmers.
- This amendment was rejected.
- Representative Sharice Davids’ Amendment (D-KS): This amendment would increase the amount for Farm Service Agency (FSA) implementation from $50 million to $100 million with a carve-out of $50 million for dedicated staffing in FSA offices.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Sharice Davids’ Amendment (D-KS): This amendment would direct the Natural Resource Conservation Service to study the impact of winter wheat as a cover crop through harvest.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Gabe Vasquez’s Amendment (D-NM): This amendment re-instates the IRA’s climate sideboards by permanently ensuring IRA funding rolled into the conservation baseline is focused on climate-smart practices.
- This amendment was rejected.
- Representative Doug LaMalfa’s Amendment (R-CA): This amendment directs USDA to include in the determination of EQUIP incentive practice payments income forgone by the producer to address “economic losses due to the loss of wetland-dependent species habitat on working cropland”
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative David Rouzer’s Amendment (R-NC): This amendment would dedicate funding towards shrimp import inspections and grant USDA authority to make surplus shrimp purchases.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Darren Soto’s Amendment (D-FL): This amendment would set out Puerto Rico as a state to participate in SNAP.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Jahana Hayes’ Amendment (D-CT): This amendment would strikes the Thrifty Food Plan cost neutrality provision and other sections, which aim to privatize the SNAP workforce.
- This amendment was rejected.
- Representative Zack Nunn’s Amendment (R-IA): This amendment permits SNAP benefits to be used to purchase additional types of food items.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Frank Lucas’ Amendment (R-OK): This amendment repeals the rule finalized by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection entitled the “Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.”
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative David Rouzer’s Amendment (R-NC): This amendment increases the set-aside for performing qualified water quality testing of qualified water systems in rural areas.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Mark Alford’s Amendment (R-MO): This amendment will add full terminology language and definitions for bioattributed products, biobased products, biobased plastics, bioattributed plastics, plant-based products, renewable chemicals, and renewable biomass.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Zach Nunn’s Amendment (R-IA): This amendment makes available to eligible entities grants to develop biorefineries to demonstrate the commercial viability of one or more processes for converting renewable biomass to advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased products.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Dusty Johnson’s Amendment (R-SD): This amendment adds agricultural cooperatives with less than 2,500 employees as qualified entities under the Renewable Energy for America Program.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Dusty Johnson’s Amendment (R-SD): This amendment adds definitions for ultra-low-carbon bioethanol and zero-carbon bioethanol to the Energy Title.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Eric Sorensen’s Amendment (D-IL): This amendment directs the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to conduct a study to analyze consistently high and low rations by commodity, and directs the Corporation to adjust premiums to balance differences for commodities.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Don Bacon’s Amendment (R-NE): This amendment would enhance the accuracy of the U.S. drought monitor that is used for the implementation of USDA disaster assistance programs.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Derrick Van Orden’s Amendment (R-WI): This amendment provides $36 million for the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative David Rouzer’s Amendment (R-NC): This amendment would require Food Safety and Inspection Service to conduct a study on the efficacy of wooden racks in the process of country ham production.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative John Rose’s Amendment (R-NC): This amendment reauthorizes the FarmService Agency’s authority to implement the Conservation Reserve Program.
- This amendment was withdrawn.
- Representative Greg Casar Amendment (D-TX): This amendment facilitates consistent enforcement of child labor laws and minimum wage laws through federal meatpacking contracts.
- Secondary amendment motion by Representative Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) to strike Representative Casar’s amendment.
- This amendment was rejected.
- Representative Zack Nunn’s Amendment (R-IA): This amendment inserts a provision at the end of Title VII to prohibit the use of funds being used to support the research of lab-grown meat.
- This amendment was withdrawn.