Will Ag Get Lost In The Shuffle?

House Republicans are trying to advance a budget framework and follow-on bill for the Iran war and U.S. farm aid, though they face long-odds. The framework includes some $73 billion in war and intelligence funding, $10 billion to implement voter ID reforms, and $12 billion for agriculture.

The White House had asked for $20 billion for agriculture.

“We’re going to strengthen our food supply. We’re not going to allow instability and a lack of resilience in the food supply," said House Budget Committee Chair Jody Arrington. "Food security’s national security. We’re not going to be begging China or anybody to feed our families.”

A recent industry report projects major row crop losses up by $1 billion next year to $32 billion. But House budget hawks are looking for spending offsets needed to set the stage for a final party-line reconciliation bill to avoid a Senate filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says lots of questions remain.

“The defense number, the ag number, whether or not it’s offset, what are the implications over here with respect to the Byrd rule and the restrictions we have on how reconciliation is used,” the South Dakota senator said.

Thune added the bottom line is the math, "whether you can get 50-votes to pass it in the end, and whether you can get 50-votes to defeat any poison pill amendments that might be offered.”

Senate Democrats blocked debate on the annual national defense bill over the war with Iran, which a party-line reconciliation measure would help fund. The House is set to take up the budget framework for that bill in the coming days.

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