Op-ed: Rep. Tracey Mann: Pass a Farm Bill. Now.
The Farm Bill expires in fewer than 50 days, and Congress has yet to authorize a new one. Food security is national security, and American farmers, ranchers, agricultural producers, and consumers cannot afford for Congress to take the Farm Bill hostage to the political limbo of Washington, D.C.
We must pass a Farm Bill, now.
The House Agriculture Committee passed the bipartisan Food, Farm, and National Security Act of 2024 out of committee more than two months ago. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have failed to release their own legislative text. Instead, they, along with some House Democrats, have taken to the airwaves to spread false information about the House Farm Bill with no solutions or policy proposals of their own.
I understand some members may have their own priorities, but enough is enough. If we fail to pass an updated Farm Bill, both producers’ and consumers’ livelihoods will be put at risk.
As the representative for the third largest agriculture-producing district in the House of Representatives, I have heard from my fellow Kansans that they need a fiscally conservative Farm Bill that prioritizes farm country, provides certainty, addresses record-high inflation, and reins in input prices, and they need it now.
Extending the 2018 Farm Bill for a few more months or another year would only handcuff our producers further as they navigate the uncertainty they’ve faced over the past six years. From a global pandemic, skyrocketing input prices and rampant inflation, the outbreak of wars in Ukraine and Israel, market fluctuation from the Biden-Harris administration’s failed trade agenda, and historic droughts in places like Kansas, our agricultural producers’ livelihoods are on the line. If we fail to authorize a new Farm Bill that answers the needs of today and not those of six years ago, we put our national security and food security at risk. The nation cannot afford that.
Our legislators should learn a lesson from Kansas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers. My fellow Kansans take on the risk of doing business with Mother Nature, knowing their crops could fail. Still, these men and women work day-in and day-out to feed, clothe, and fuel the world.
It’s no secret that Democrats and Republicans will not agree on everything. We have different priorities and different values. That is a given. But with a Republican-controlled House and a Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, we have to find a path forward that provides a solution for our agricultural producers. This cannot become another political game in Washington, D.C. Too many lives depend on it.
Neither agricultural producers nor consumers benefit when we pout about not getting everything we want and kick the can down the road. We need to work together, identify solutions that work for American producers, and pass a Farm Bill that addresses the needs of farm country today.
Just like at harvest time on every farm, you work hard, persevere through the challenges, manage your disappointments, and when it’s all said and done, you enjoy the fruits of your labor. Congress can and should do the same.
Americans don’t want to live in a country where they don’t have reliably stocked grocery store shelves, fuel to put in their vehicles, or clothes for their families to wear. The longer we delay authorizing a new Farm Bill, the closer we get to this being our reality.
Our farmers, ranchers, agricultural producers, and consumers are counting on Congress to pass a Farm Bill that empowers them to feed, fuel, and clothe the world. It’s time for Congress to pass a Farm Bill, now.
