Cheri Bustos Gives Inside Look at Voting on a Farm Bill

By Brynna Sentel

The 2018 Farm Bill didn't travel an easy road - it took nine months to gain approval - but its path was smooth compared to the 2014 Farm Bill, says former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. That bill languished for nearly two years before passing.

While the Congressional landscape is not the same as it was 10 years ago, many of the same debates are likely to take center as we consider the 2023 Farm Bill. For the first time in history, this Farm Bill is expected to be over $1 trillion, and in this session, almost half of Congress is brand new or new to passing a Farm Bill. So, we're looking at a big learning curve and a lot at stake.

“I have been involved with three Farm Bills in my time in Congress,” says Bustos. “I voted on the 2013 Farm Bill; I was on the Conference Committee for the 2018 Farm Bill, and then, even though I knew I was leaving Congress in January of this year, we did field hearings and listening sessions all over the country, asking, ‘What do you want to see in the 2023 Farm Bill?’”

One consistent theme throughout these listening sessions was farmers' concerns about crop insurance and protecting it.

“Crop insurance and the nutrition program are among the most heavily debated parts of the Farm Bill, and my guess is they will be again for this 2023 Farm Bill,” says Bustos.

Though the Farm Bill has expired, the mandatory programs continue. A “Continuing Resolution” will be voted on by the Chair of the House Ag Committee to ensure no necessary programs are left unfunded.

“Now, keep in mind, there hasn't even been a draft of a Farm Bill released out of the House or the Senate,” says Bustos. “So that gives you a little perspective. There's a long way to go still.”

Some legislators even predict this next Farm Bill won't pass until 2025 due to it being an election year and several other obstacles, including a possible government shutdown and the sudden leadership turnover in the U.S. House. Unfortunately, the Farm Bill just isn’t the top priority.

For a Farm Bill to pass, experts will debate all 12 titles, then vote for passage by the Ag Committee. Titles in the most recent Farm Bill include farm commodity revenue supports, agricultural conservation, trade and foreign food assistance, farm credit, research, rural development, forestry, bioenergy, horticulture, and domestic nutrition assistance.

Democrats and Republicans draft their versions of what they think should be included in the Farm Bill, and then it's all presented in the Ag Committee, where you have what's called markup. They go over each of the titles and then go over each of the amendments. When the final passage comes out of the Ag Committee, the Speaker of the House will decide if they want to bring it to the House floor.

The Speaker will want to ensure they have the votes to pass it before it is brought up for a vote, because it's viewed as a leadership failure if something is passed out of committee but not passed out of the House floor.

While all this is happening in the House, the same is happening in the Senate. The Senate will draft its version, send for a vote in the Ag Committee and then forward that to the whole Senate floor.

Only after that long process do the two draft proposals go for review by a jointly appointed conference committee to work out those differences.

“That's an essential part of the process where Illinois will want as many of our folks as possible at that table,” says Bustos.

The version that comes out of the conference committee is then voted on, and, if passed, goes to the House and Senate for voting, then to the President to be signed into law.

“I come from a long line of family farmers, and they all grow soybeans here in Illinois,” says Bustos. “I got more heavily involved from a policy perspective in 2013 when I began my decade-long career in Congress, where I served on the Ag Committee from day one. I stayed on it and ended up Chair of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee of House Ag.”

Bustos left Congress on January 3, 2023, and now works alongside the Illinois Soybean Association in a new role in public affairs. In this capacity, she is working to educate lawmakers about family farms so they have a personal connection to reflect on with agricultural issues.

“Agriculture is the biggest economic driver for the State of Illinois,” says Bustos. “Whether you serve on the Ag Committee, you are a rank and file member, or you serve on other committees within the House or the Senate, it's important that you understand what an important economic driver agriculture is. It's important for every one of our members of the Illinois congressional delegation to understand agriculture.”