House Ag Committee Chairman David Scott, D-Ga., spoke virtually before the National Farmers Union convention, relating discussions with President Joe Biden about getting COVID-19 vaccines to processing plants and rural areas.
He also wants a rethinking of disaster relief, noting that “what we've done in Congress in the past is not getting the aid down to our farmers in time.” The solution, he said is creating legislation for establishing an “independent funding mechanism” away from the regular appropriations process, which he called “too political.”
Observers note this appears to be yet another effort that lawmakers and this administration are eyeing to utilize the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) authority. That has been the case in the past when lawmakers have sought to move something outside the annual appropriations process. As more and more of these efforts are being considered, it also appears to be a way to build support for expanding the CCC borrowing authority from the current $30 billion level.