Last Friday, July 24, the House of Representatives passed a minibus of fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, which included the agriculture bill. However, the Hagstrom Report says the White House is opposed to the overall bill and cited some specific provisions as the reason for its opposition.
The final vote was 224-189. Seven Democrats, including House Ag Chair Collin Peterson, voted with Republicans in voting against it. Another 17 Republicans didn’t vote. The Senate hasn’t acted yet on appropriations bills. It’s not clear if the House and Senate will finish the appropriations process or pass a continuing resolution that will fund the government either until after the election or next year.
In a statement of administration policy, the Office of Management and Budget says the Trump administration is concerned about provisions like those that would “stop historic welfare reforms at USDA.” OMB also says that such provisions would degrade the ability of USDA to move more families forward, provide equitable treatment across state lines, and effectively target program resources to those most in need.
The OMB statement didn’t threaten a veto of H.R. 7608, instead saying, “The administration looks forward to working with Congress to address our concerns as the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations process moves ahead.”
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)