House Ag Committee 2018 Farm Bill Under Budget

Last week, the House Agriculture Committee sent its budget views and estimates letter for fiscal year 2019 to the House Budget Committee.  Chairman Mike Conaway stressed the importance of getting the bill done in these times of financial stress for Ag producers.  The Texas Republican also reiterated that the current Farm Bill came in under budget.

“We’ve got to get the Farm Bill redone, and the ag economy is probably not going to get any better than it already is, it’s been in the doldrums for five year now with about a 52% drop in farm income.  But, in spite of all that the 2014 Farm Bill is coming in about $100 billion less than was estimated, four times the commitment of our committee about in 2014.”

Ranking Member Collin Peterson stated that with the current Ag and Nutrition programs coming in under budget, that he is opposed to any further cuts to the Farm bill budge.

“Agriculture and nutrition programs have also provided significant budget savings as the chairman indicated over CBO estimates.  It is for these reasons that I am opposed to any further attempted to reduce Farm Bill program spending in this bill.”

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