Congress rarely passes a budget on time these days. In fact, the last time Congress passed a budget on time was 25 years ago, in fiscal year 1997. With regular slim majorities, neither party usually has the 60 votes in the Senate to pass the 12 individual appropriations bills that are supposed to make up a spending bill.
To their credit, they keep trying. On Thursday, Representative Sanford Bishop (D-GA 4) hosted Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for a hearing on the 2023 budget request. Bishop is chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee and his committee plays a big part in approval of the budget request. Budget request hearings look a little different when the chairman of the hearing committee is of the same party as the president and Bishop took a few minutes to highlight the work of the USDA.
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop
“This budget comes to Congress at an important moment in time. For the past two years, USDA has played a major part in the government’s response to COVID-19. Through six coronavirus relief bills, including the American Rescue Plan Act, Congress entrusted USDA with tens of billions of dollars and additional flexibilities,” said Bishop.
Among other things, the budget proposes nearly $1.2 billion to address climate change on private, agricultural land. The budget would also expand rural internet access programs by an additional $113 million. That is on top of a $65 billion investment in the recently passed infrastructure bill dedicated for that purpose. The bill also proposes $111 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a program used by more than 43 million Americans.
“With those funds and authorities, USDA is helping to put food on the table both at home and at school by expanding access to food programs. USDA is strengthening the food supply chain by investing in infrastructure and support for food processors, and local food systems, to build resiliency in the food supply. And USDA is doubling down on its efforts in rural America, including investments to support rural hospitals and local communities, rental assistance for low-income and elderly borrowers, and further investments in broadband expansion.”
Bishop is headed for a potentially tight re-election campaign in his newly mapped 2nd district, more Republican than before. Bishop has rarely faced tough challengers in his long congressional career. He regularly is reelected with more than 60 percent of the vote, his last tough challenge came in 2010 when he won by only 2 points, 51-49 percent. Bishop and the Biden administration are both keen to show their commitment to rural voters to stave off potentially big losses in November.
Secretary Vilsack underscored this commitment and intent during his comments. “The President’s budget provides USDA with the tools needed to support a vibrant, revitalized, and prosperous rural America. It contains transformational investments that will help rural communities build resilience to the climate crisis, increase landscape resiliency to the impacts of climate change, create more and better markets for our hardworking producers, bolster access to healthy and affordable nutrition for families, help connect all Americans to high-speed, affordable, and reliable internet, strengthen USDA’s efforts to build equitable systems and programming, and position the United States to be a leader in Agricultural Research. This budget proposal is a statement of intent that underscores President Biden’s commitment to the success of rural Americans and their communities.”
