Braun: Congress expected to pass a farm bill in excess of $1 trillion 

By U.S. Sen. Mike Braun 
Republican Party, Indiana 

I’d like to give you an update on farm bill negotiations in the U.S. Senate and some legislation I’ve been working on for farmers. 

I’ve been involved with farming nearly all my life, both in tree and row-crop farming. I know agriculture not just as someone who talks to a lot of farmers, but someone who has done it myself. 

This will be the first time Congress will pass a farm bill in excess of $1 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s baseline, the bill will be nearly $1.5 trillion – about twice the cost of the 2018 Farm Bill. 

Eighty-five percent of that will be the Nutrition Title. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has grown much bigger because of the Biden administration’s recalculation of the Thrifty Food Plan. Those re-evaluations typically adjust a “market basket” for inflation, but Biden’s USDA went against the 2018 Farm Bill’s intent and unilaterally increased the cost of SNAP. 

I think we need a lot more “farm” in the farm bill. Only about 10 percent goes to farmers through commodity support programs and crop insurance. Five percent goes to conservation. 

Congress does all of its budgeting through giant “omnibus” spending packages that borrow trillions of dollars at a time. The farm bill, which is a rare spot of bipartisanship in this place, shouldn’t become one of those bills that people load up with extraneous spending. It needs a lot more for farmers. 

Ranking Member Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) is leading on the Ag Committee to make sure the farm bill continues to provide a safety net for farmers in these uncertain times, and I support his leadership. 

I’ve been proud to introduce a few pieces of legislation you may be interested in, including the Farmer-Informed WOTUS Act to give farmers a seat at the table when EPA decides what makes a body of water subject to WOTUS (Waters of the U.S.). Earlier this year, I led the entire Indiana Republican Congressional delegation in calling on the EPA to give farmers clarity on how to implement the new WOTUS rule. 

I also introduced the Increased Technical Service Providers (TSP) Access Act, and the American Farmers Feed the World Act, which would make sure that federal international food aid programs are buying American-grown commodities. 

I also introduced a bipartisan bill to stop our foreign adversaries from buying up American farmland. We can’t jeopardize our food supply chain by allowing our adversaries to buy up America acre by acre. 

In October, I completed my fifth annual tour of all 92 Indiana counties. In counties up and down the state, I meet with Hoosier farmers to bring their perspective to the Senate. 

Hoosiers sent me there because they wanted someone from outside the political system to represent them. If I can ever be of assistance to you, I hope you’ll reach out to my office and make your voice heard.