Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley had some harsh words for House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway of Texas. The Grassley response came as Conaway said Grassley is wrong “every single time” when he complains about loopholes in the process by which USDA makes subsidy payments to farmers.
Grassley
Conaway
Earlier this week, Grassley had said he would use the Senate farm bill to go after loopholes that non-farmers exploit to collect a lot of subsidy cash from the government. The House version of the farm bill doesn’t contain any payment limitations. House Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows failed in his effort to promote an amendment that would rein in how much USDA is authorized to grant farmers coping with low commodity prices. In a three-tweet thread on Twitter, Grassley says Conaway should tell farmers why “I’m wrong for wanting to limit farm subsidies to FARMERS and not WALL ST Bankers living high on the hog. Farm subsidies meant as a safety net for farmers w/dirt under their nails.”
Grassley encouraged the Freedom Caucus to vote against the House Farm Bill when it comes up again in June.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.