Budget reconciliation legislation moves forward in key House committees

This week, House committees passed legislation that included key federal policy priorities advocated by Texas Corn Producers Association for several years. This legislation will be incorporated into the House GOP reconciliation package, which aims to address several of the administration's domestic policy priorities.

TCPA has urged Congress to improve the outdated 2018 Farm Bill by reauthorizing a new bill with modernized programs that meet the current needs of our nation's farmers. Farmers have sustained blows from rising production costs, increasing interest rates, and low commodity prices - not to mention natural disasters impacting much of the country.

The House Committee on Agriculture advanced legislation that included key TCPA priorities with a party-line vote on May 14, including:

• Reference Price Increase: Setting a statutory reference price for corn of $4.10 and other commodities under Price Loss Coverage (PLC). It also includes a built-in escalator for the reference price. These crucial adjustments will help corn farmers better cover their production costs, ensuring the long-term productivity and resilience of family farms.
• Base Acre Additions: Creating a pathway for farms to be eligible for the farm bill's Title 1 risk protection is a vital step in the right direction. This provides long-overdue access for under- and un-based farms - a critical on-ramp that many farmers have needed and haven't seen for decades.
• Payment Limit Adjustment: Increasing the payment limit to $155,000, along with a mechanism to adjust for inflation, is a much-needed update. This change will enable farmers to better navigate soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and increasing input costs.
• Increase in Loan Rate: Raising the marketing assistance loan (MAL) rate for corn to $2.42. MALs are essential for supporting farmers' cash flow, particularly during harvest, and this increase provides them with the necessary financial tools.
• Supportive Crop Insurance: Increasing the premium cost share for both optional units and base units, as well as elevating Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) to a maximum coverage of 90% with an 80% premium cost share. Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and Crop and Livestock Income Protection (CLIP) provisions are similarly enhanced. Importantly, it also extends the length and level of premium support for beginning farmers and ranchers to 10 years.
• Feral Hog Eradication Program: Building on the success of the initial pilot program, this bill outlines additional investments that are essential for protecting Texas crops from the significant destruction caused by feral hogs.

Additionally, TCPA has encouraged Congress to extend farm-friendly tax policies that are essential to keeping family farms in business and allowing for a viable succession plan. Earlier this week, the House Committee on Ways & Means passed legislation with key tax provisions for the association, including permanently extending important provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 such as the expanded estate and gift tax exemptions and the qualified business income deduction.

The policies proposed by these two committees will ultimately become part of the House GOP reconciliation package. House leadership has indicated its plans to vote on the reconciliation package next week. The action will then shift to the Senate. Once the upper chamber passes its legislation, both chambers must reconcile their differences before presenting a bill to the President. Consequently, the process will unfold over the coming months - the House committees' actions this week represent just one phase of a more extended procedure.