Legislative update
Farm bill heats up on the Hill House and Senate farm bill activity continues into summer. By Elizabeth McCartney
A
s discussed in the April edition of Irrigation Today, the current farm bill expires on Sept. 30, 2018. Congressional activity on the farm bill really took off in April and has continued
into the summer months. As the process to reauthorize this piece of legislation that governs agriculture policy in the United States continues, the Irrigation Association remains focused on promoting efficient irrigation and continues to push for a balance between productivity and conservation. The next farm bill will be pivotal in helping increase opportunities for farmers to invest in efficient irrigation technologies.
Congressional activity continues
On April 18, the House Committee on Agriculture passed its draft farm bill (H.R. 2) out of committee on a party-line vote of 26-20. As the process moved forward in the House, Republican leadership did not expect to garner any Democratic support for the full House floor vote and planned to rely on votes from Republican members. The full House began floor debate on its bill during the week of May 14. Republican leaders were unable to garner the necessary votes because members of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative voting bloc, refused to give their support unless leadership scheduled an immigration vote. After a few days of floor debate, the House farm bill failed by a vote of 198-213. Thirty Republicans voted against the bill because of the separate immigration issue. As of press time, the House was scheduled to vote on the farm bill again by June 22.
The Senate Agriculture Committee released its farm bill draft in mid-June. This bill passed out of committee on June 13, with a bipartisan vote of 20-1. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., remain
e next farm bill will be pivotal in
helping increase opportunities for farmers to invest in efficient irrigation technologies.
committed to a bipartisan bill. As of press time, this bill is expected to see Senate floor time before the Fourth of July recess.
The White House has also been active in the farm bill process. Agriculture committee leadership from both the Senate and House have met with the White House and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The administration remains supportive of the nutrition title included in the House farm bill. However, at this point, the president is not expected to veto a farm bill that excludes these work requirements.
Irrigation industry weighs in
Since 2014, the IA has been actively working with congressional representatives on behalf of the industry. With the Environmental Quality Incentives Program as the go-to program for farmers to use for cost-sharing irrigation efficiency improvements, the 2018 farm bill process provides a critical opportunity to help increase investments in efficient irrigation.
The irrigation industry welcomes many of the proposed changes in the House farm bill conservation title. In addition to the legislative changes covered in April’s Irrigation Today, another positive step coming out of the House’s farm bill efforts is the House report language that reiterates the House Agriculture Committee’s commitment to expanding the uses and opportunities for irrigation. While report language does not have the rule of law, it does help provide direction to the USDA during its implementation of the next farm bill.
As congressional activity continues, now is the time for the irrigation industry to weigh in on the farm bill. Please visit
www.irrigation.org/farmbill for more information on how to stay engaged in the process.
Elizabeth McCartney is the senior policy and advocacy manager for the Irrigation Association.
6 Irrigation TODAY | July 2018
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