With an unprecedented Election Day mandate handed down to President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, it appears as if the all-important Farm Bill will finally be addressed.
The 2023 Farm Bill can was kicked into 2024, with House Democrats holding up the process by pushing to restore Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding to COVID-era levels.
House Republicans have pushed back, and the negotiations all but stood still. There has been some movement behind closed doors over the past several months. Still, now that President Trump won reelection and Republicans have gained control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress, Republicans may look to negotiate and pass a far more farmer-friendly and lean farm bill under a Trump administration.
This would make sense, considering that Democrats' leverage on the legislative funding measure was diminished after Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump, and Democrats lost the majority in the Senate.
Republicans still hold a slim majority in the House, but the gains in the Senate solidify their majority in the lower chamber.
According to Rep. Kat Cammack (R), who sits on the Agriculture Committee in the House, lawmakers “ are in discussions now” on the Farm Bill.
Rep. Cammack agrees that a farm bill crafted under the guise of the Trump administration would be a better product for Americans.
“I think we would get a better farm bill if we do under the Trump admin,” said Rep. Cammack in a statement to The Floridian.
Earlier this year, Rep. Cammack signaled that the farm bill still faced a long road ahead of it.
“The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 is the culmination a lot of hard work and listening to producers from around the country. The crafting of this bill has been no easy endeavor, and we still have a long way to go in getting this across the finish line,” stated Rep. Cammack.
During his first term in office, President Trump championed that last farm bill and American farmers, and outlined the risks to national security that the U.S. faced from adversarial countries that looked to dump cheap produce into the American food supply.
In Florida, other members like Reps. Cory Mills and Byron Donalds, both have pushed for stronger food and overall stronger agriculture security.
In September, Rep. Donalds announced that “The FISHES Act” passed unanimously on a bipartisan way out of committee.
Following Hurricane Ian, Southwest Florida’s seafood industry incurred catastrophic devastation and its impact still persists," said Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL). "Waterways are the lifeblood of our economy and our community. It has always been my commitment to advocate for the vitality of water—which ultimately benefits countless families, businesses, and the overall development of Florida’s 19th Congressional District. I am proud to receive the unanimous, bipartisan support of my colleagues on this proposal and look forward to its successful passage on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
