The 2023 farm bill should be a climate bill, Democrats say

These House Democrats want the farm bill to be a ‘huge climate win'

Don't look now, but the divided Congress could pass a major climate change bill.

No, it's not version 2.0 of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats' sweeping climate and health-care package. Rather, the farm bill — the five-year reauthorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in agriculture and food programs — could help farmers tackle the climate crisis while feeding the nation.

Congress has until the end of September to reauthorize the farm bill, which typically passes with bipartisan support. Already, House Democrats are working to include provisions aimed at helping farmers store more carbon in the soil, plant more trees and become more resilient in the face of extreme weather, Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) told The Climate 202.

"We've already started planning for the farm bill and how to push the policies that are great for farmers, great for soil health and also great for the planet," said Schrier, who is co-chairing the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition's Climate and Agriculture Task Force.

The coalition, a group of more than 80 climate-conscious House Democrats, will formally launch the task force today with an eye toward ensuring that the farm bill contains robust climate provisions. (The coalition will launch four other task forces as well, according to details shared exclusively with The Climate 202. More on that below.)

Agriculture accounts for about 11 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, so the sector can play a key role in addressing climate change. To that end, Schrier said climate-friendly provisions in the farm bill could fall into the following three "buckets":

• Sustainable forestry: Thisinvolves planting trees and protecting forests from wildfires, pests and diseases. Trees can store massive amounts of carbon dioxide in their trunks, branches, leaves and roots. But when trees burn in wildfires, these climate benefits go up in smoke, too.
• Conservation programs: This involves authorizing billions of dollars a year for voluntary programs that help farmers, ranchers and landowners conserve soil, water and wildlife habitat.
• Research: This involves funding research at land-grant universities and the Agriculture Department into how climate change is threatening agriculture. For instance, drought conditions and extreme weather wreaked havoc last year on corn, wheat, tomatoes and other crops.

"I think this farm bill could really turn out to be a huge climate win," Ben Thomas, senior policy director for agriculture at the Environmental Defense Fund and a former deputy undersecretary at USDA, told The Climate 202.

Andrew Walmsley, senior director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in an email that members of the lobbying group have "long been supporters of climate-smart ag practices" through voluntary conservation programs in the farm bill.

The GOP

Sen. John Boozman (Ark.), top Republican on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, voiced concern Wednesday about the Congressional Budget Office's increased cost estimate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programin the farm bill.

"We are looking at the most expensive farm bill ever," Boozman said in a statement, adding that the projection from the nonpartisan budget office "will make this farm bill a much heavier lift for Congress."

Some environmentalists fear Republicans could propose cuts to climate-related spending in the farm bill. They also worry Republicans could try to rescind the $20 billion chunk of funding for climate-friendly agriculture practices in the Inflation Reduction Act, including about $8.5 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which pays farmers to restore ecosystems or reduce emissions.

But Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the other co-chair of the Climate and Agriculture Task Force, said the voluntary conservation programs in the farm bill have historically gotten bipartisan support, and she expects this year will be no different.

Pingree also argued that it would be extremely difficult for Republicans to "claw back" the money in the climate law, since the programs are hugely popular and oversubscribed, meaning the USDA has been turning farmers away.

"I don't really see how they could take a lot of that [funding] back when you've got farmers in everybody's district — red, blue, purple — lined up and looking for more of that money," she said.

Spokespeople forBoozman and House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) did not respond to requests for comment.

Other task forces eye permitting, jobs

In addition to the Climate and Agriculture Task Force, the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition is launching the following four task forces focused on key aspects of climate policy:

• The Clean Energy Deployment Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Sean Casten (Ill.) and Mike Levin (Calif.)
• The Climate Jobs Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), Nikki Budzinski (Ill.) and Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.)
• The Climate and National Security Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Katie Porter (Calif.) and Andy Kim (N.J.)
• The Nature and Oceans Task Force, co-chaired by Reps. Doris Matsui (Calif.) and Joe Neguse (Colo.)

Casten and Levin told The Climate 202 that their task force will prioritize legislation to speed up the permitting process for energy projects, including the transmission lines needed to carry clean power across the country.

Last year, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) tried unsuccessfully to include a permitting bill in must-pass legislation. But Levin said he hopes this effort will succeed — and that both parties can come together on a permitting measure in addition to the farm bill.

"I feel pretty optimistic about this — as optimistic as I can feel about getting anything done in a divided Congress," he said.