Earlier this week we heard from Representative Zach Nunn from Iowa’s 3rd District, and he talked about important Ag measures that were going to be included in the proposed Continuing Resolution to fund the government. It was going to include another one-year extension of the Farm Bill, and even nationwide, year-round E15. Everything looked like it was ready to go, but then hard-lined Republicans pulled their support from the bill.
The margin of leadership in the House is razor-thin right now, and they need Democratic support to get any bills across the finish line. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had granted some concessions to House Democrats to get that support to keep the government and certain programs funded into next year. However, ultra-conservative Republicans have withdrawn support for the measure because of the inclusion of measures from the Democrats that were needed to get any support across the aisle. This is also seen as a political push by Conservatives to find a more hard-lined Speaker in the next Congress.
These moves were supported by President-Elect Trump and Vice President-Elect Vance. They said that Johnson was giving too much to Senator Schumer and the Democrats. The Bill also included $100 billion in disaster relief. This was sought mainly for damage caused by hurricanes earlier this year. Vice President-Elect Vance would not answer directly if he and President-Elect Trump were supporting a full government shutdown. Later in another statement, Trump and Vance said, “Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country.”
The measure was lambasted on social media most of the day by Elon Musk, the Billionaire head of X, Tesla, and SpaceX. Musk is a staunch opponent of any kind of support subsidies. Musk added that anyone who votes for the bill should be voted out and that the bill is “criminal.”
So, what does this mean for Iowa Farmers?
Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig spoke with me about the situation this morning, and he had some key takeaways about where we are right now.
If anything is to get done, we are down to the wire. The current budget has a deadline tonight.
Naig explains our problem with an expired Farm Bill without an extension.
Naig says he’s encouraged that there are pushes in the upcoming leadership to get a Farm Bill done ASAP.
As of press time, there are talks happening to still get a funding bill done by the end of the day today.
