Breaking News: Attack on Farm Bill Clean Energy Programs

Agriculture, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Federal Legislation, Opinions, Policy

May 18, 2018

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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Breaking news arrives from the Ag Energy Coalition regarding the 2018 Farm Bill. Green Capiltol’s Lloyd Ritter writes:

Rep. Biggs farm bill amendment was made in order by the Rules Committee last night to eviscerate the clean energy title programs of the farm bill. It will be voted on as early as this afternoon. This is an attack on ALL renewables and energy efficiency. American renewables and EE developers, suppliers, farmers, all consumers and supporters must work to beat this back immediately.

Please, beginning this morning, contact House members and urge a NO vote on Biggs. We already are getting help from key supporters on the Hill. But they need our engagement. Call, email or visit your House contacts immediately and make sure they know to vote NO on the Biggs amendment.

Popular, successful and transformational programs like REAP, the Biorefinery Assistance Program, Biopreferred, BCAPand others are all in serious jeopardy if this amendment passes. Thousands of jobs, manufacturing opportunities, and rural economic development projects could be destroyed. Farm bill energy title programs have helped farmers, ranchers, rural small businesses, renewable, biotech, and energy efficiency companies in all 50 states.

Again please urge all House members to vote NO on the anti energy, anti clean tech, anti rural America Biggs amendment.

Farm Bill backstory

We reported in April that the House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing to mark up the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 – draft farm bill legislation. Lloyd Ritter, director of the Agriculture Energy Coalition, released this statement in reaction: “The House Agriculture Committee has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to support farmers, ranchers, foresters and rural businesses. There is strong bipartisan support for the renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in the farm bill, which have a demonstrated record of success in boosting the economic health of rural communities.”

“The Agriculture Energy Coalition greatly appreciates the support expressed by members of the Committee to keep the energy title intact, to further improve the programs, to provide the farm bill energy programs strong mandatory funding, and to continue incentivizing new biobased innovations and technologies – aspects that are lacking in the draft proposal,” said Ritter. “The coalition’s members look forward to working with Congress to pass a farm bill that reauthorizes the energy title programs with appropriate mandatory funding.”

…

“Energy title programs account for less than one tenth of 1 percent of farm bill spending and yet provide outsized benefits. For example more than 17,000 projects and counting have been cost-shared across the United States — in every state — with more than $5 billion leveraged since inception. Public/private investments through farm energy and bioeconomy programs are generating innovation and growth opportunities at a time rural America sorely needs it,” the letter continues.

In February, we ran a Thought Leadership column by Jeremy Gilpin, Jordan Blanchard, and Cindy Thyfault of the National Rural Lenders Association: Energy Programs Should Be Fully Funded and Enhanced in the 2018 Farm Bill. READ MORE

Ag Policy Blog: Farm Groups Come Out Against Farm Bill Checkoff Amendment (DTN The Progressive Farmer)

The case for cutting energy programs from the farm bill (The Hill)

Proposed House Farm Bill Falls Short in Properly Underpinning 21st Century Agriculture – updated (25 x ’25)

In blow to GOP, House fails to pass massive Farm Bill in face of conservative Republican showdown (The Washington Post)

House votes down 2018 Farm Bill (Biomass Magazine)

Farm bill energy programs have earned bipartisan support (The Hill)

Excerpts from The Washington Post: A sweeping farm bill failed in the House on Friday in a major embarrassment to GOP leaders who were unable to placate conservative lawmakers demanding commitments on immigration.

Leadership put the bill on the floor gambling it would pass despite unanimous Democratic opposition. They negotiated with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus up to the last minutes.

But their gamble failed. The vote was 198-213, with 30 Republicans joined 183 Democrats in defeating bill.

The outcome exposed what is becoming an all-out war within the House GOP over immigration, a divisive fight the Republicans did not want to have heading into midterm elections in November that will decide control of Congress.

…

The farm bill itself broke open partisan divisions in the House as Democrats abandoned negotiations with Republicans over the food stamp changes, which would require adults to spend 20 hours per week either working or participating in a state-run training program as a condition to receive benefits. Democrats argue that a million or more people would end up losing benefits as a result because most states don’t have the capacity to set up the training programs required.

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The House farm bill would have been a non-starter in the Senate anyway, which is writing its own farm bill. Any legislation that ultimately makes it to President Trump’s desk will have to look more like the Senate version, where bipartisan support will be necessary for anything to pass and there is not sufficient support for the food stamp changes. READ MORE

Excerpt from Biomass Magazine: One day prior to the vote, members of the House defeated a proposed amendment by a vote of 75 to 340 that would have repealed the Farm Bill’s Energy Title. The amendment, H.Amdt. 619, was offered by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. While 74 republicans and one democrat voted in favor of the amendment, 154 republicans and 186 democrats voted against it. An additional six republicans and six democrats did not vote on the amendment. READ MORE

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