The Farm Bill is a huge, complex piece of legislation (as our Farm Bill 101 makes clear) and its path through Congress will be filled with twists and turns. We’re closely following this journey, looking at how the proposed bills in the House and Senate will impact farmers, eaters, and residents of rural communities. Over the coming months, Farm Aid will keep this post updated with the latest news on the Farm Bill and opportunities to speak up to improve it.
May 18
Bill with drastic cuts moves forward
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed an agriculture appropriations bill. We were disappointed to see that it drastically cut agricultural funding by 30% ($8.3 billion) for the 2024 fiscal year budget as compared to 2023. This bill passed out of subcommittee along party lines. Next up, the House Appropriations Committee will markup the bill. This step was supposed to occur the week of May 22, but has been delayed due to ongoing debt ceiling negotiations.