Lawmakers struggle to reach deal to avert government shutdown

Congressional negotiators are struggling to reach a deal to keep the government's lights on past Dec. 20.

Text of a continuing resolution (CR) for a government funding package was expected on Sunday ahead of the looming shutdown deadline.

But lawmakers failed to release the text, with economic assistance for farmers emerging as an apparent last-minute sticking point.

Key players had indicated this week that the forthcoming CR, which keeps the government funded at current levels, would also include another one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill, as both sides have struggled to agree on a longer-term plan. But lawmakers had also ramped up talks of potential add-ons to provide economic assistance for farmers as part of the broader funding plan.

Sen. John Hoeven (N.D.), the top Republican on the subcommittee that oversees agricultural funding, said in a statement on Saturday that GOP leadership backed a proposed package of “$12 billion of relief for economic losses and $16 billion in weather-related assistance” that he was hopeful of being attached as part of the year-end stopgap funding deal.

“While we have kept this proposal clean of potentially partisan additions, we have not yet received the Democratic support we need,” he said at the time. “We encourage the nation’s farmers, ranchers, and agriculture stakeholders to let their representatives know how critical it is for the Continuing Resolution to include both economic and weather agriculture assistance for America’s producers.”

Meanwhile, Democrats took aim at Republicans over the sputtered talks. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and House Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.) said on Saturday that GOP leadership turned down a $10 billion offer, rejecting “needed economic assistance and increased conservation spending for decades.”

“For weeks, congressional Democrats have provided a pathway to a farm bill extension that will deliver tens of billions of dollars in economic assistance and investments in farm bill programs that farmers rely on,” they said.

“Their eleventh-hour offer fell short of what farmers need, shortchanged critical farm bill programs, and steals from critically needed assistance to address recent natural disasters. We can and should do both economic and disaster assistance, not pit one against the other.”

They also stressed the importance that the proposal be “paid for and does not take any funding away from the critical natural disaster aid that has been requested.”

The emphasis comes as the Biden administration has called on Congress to approve more $100 billion in disaster aid from Congress for a number of agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation. 

Stabenow also told The Hill this week that she “found resources” to pay for the additional economic assistance, but wouldn’t offer specifics. However, Politico reported Democrats were hopeful of reinvesting billions of dollars in climate conservation funds from the party’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Congress is facing a quickly narrowing window to act on legislation to avert a shutdown. The House's self-imposed 72-hour rule means the legislation must be released within the next couple days for the lower chamber to act on it and give the Senate time to pass it as well.

But the absence of further economic support for farmers could pose a hurdle to the forthcoming stopgap’s chances of passage.

Rep. Peter Sessions (R-Texas) said in a post this weekend that he “will vote NO to any Continuing Resolution that does not include economic support for our farm and ranch families.”

“I am distressed by the news that the planned government funding bill to reach the House floor this week will not include funding for our farmers and ranchers. The agricultural community is the backbone of not just TX-17, but our entire nation.”

House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) also said he would not "relent" in getting farmer the support they need. 

“For years, our farmers and ranchers have sounded the alarm on the looming financial crisis in rural America."

Groups are also dialing up the pressure on Congress. 

In a statement on Saturday, the American Soybean Association that it will “oppose any supplemental spending package that does not provide meaningful assistance to farmers who need help now to stay afloat in 2025 and beyond.”

“While talks continue on an extension of the farm bill and a package to fund the government, soy farmers and other agricultural groups have expressed they do not support a package that fails to acknowledge the economic realities farmers are facing.”

In making the case for the assistance earlier this week, Sen. John Boozman (Ark.), top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, told The Hill that “the last two years have seen the greatest drop in income in history.”

“Our farmers right now are in a situation where, because input costs are so high and the commodity prices are so low they're not breaking even, they're losing money,” he said, adding the economic help could be key to helping farmers get “through this year.”