Washington Insider: Farm Bill Completion Expected Soon

House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairmen Mike Conaway, R., Texas, and Pat Roberts, R., Kan., and Ranking Members Collin Peterson, D., Minn., and Debbie Stabenow, D., Mich., released a statement Thursday declaring they have "reached an agreement in principle on the 2018 Farm Bill." However, the leaders also said they were working to finalize the legislative language and conference report language and get scores from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). "We still have more work to do," the lawmakers said. "We are committed to delivering a new farm bill to America as quickly as possible." This echoes what some of the panel leaders had been saying the past 24 hours on the matter. Programs covered by the bill include crop subsidies and support to access export markets, areas essential for American farmers, a key constituency of President Donald Trump. Such funding is crucial, various media accounts have said, as farmers suffer from trade wars with key commercial partners such as China. The latest bill, passed in 2014, expired on Sept. 30 after talks over its replacement broke down. At the heart of the debate was whether or not to impose stricter work requirements for recipients of food stamps. With Democrats in control of the House next year, lawmakers were hopeful the deadlock could be resolved, but recently, forestry provisions emerged as a new point of contention, following the deadly wildfires in California earlier this month. Last week USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said forest management practices need to be "sped up" and he hoped that U.S. agencies could get more authority to do so under a farm bill being debated. "There are things we can do; we need the authority to do that," he said. Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke said on Tuesday that the deadliest wildfires in California's history were partly due to lawsuits from environmentalists who have sought to stop forest management practices, such as forest thinning. Environmental groups and many Democrats have opposed some Republican proposals on forestry issues, and worrying that while "the government already has powers to prevent fires under current law, the proposals would increase logging." Roberts said forestry provisions had been dealt with at the leadership level during a meeting late on Tuesday, but declined to elaborate on the details. "The paramount issue ... is farmers need a bill, he said. They need certainty and predictability. So if you have a strong feeling about a particular issue that is in second place," he said. So, we will see. It will be important to see the details of just how the administration chooses to deal with the fire protection issue. There are well-tested, fire-fighting authorities and practices in use for each of the main forestry management agencies, especially USDA and the Department of the Interior. Whether these are beefed up some and continue, as they have been in the past, or emphasized and "weaponized" in the ongoing climate change battle remains to be seen. With the announcement by ag panel leaders, it appears enough of these conflicts have been settled, a situation which will be a significant achievement for the administration and for the sector, Washington Insider believes.