Heritage Expert on Expiring Farm Bill: Don't Let Lame Duck Session Lock in Five Years of Bad Policy

Sep 27, 2018 1 min read

This morning, Heritage Foundation agriculture expert Daren Bakst had the following to say about the farm bill expiration:

“The 2014 farm bill is set to expire on Sunday. Quite simply, this is no big deal. New farm bills rarely get passed before the old farm bill expires. Once the farm bill does expire, Congress should do the right thing and pass a one-year extension of the 2014 farm bill. Rushing to get a new farm bill passed by the end of this year, especially during the lame duck session, would likely lead to locking in bad policy for five years.

“A one-year extension would help provide some predictability for farmers and enable Congress to take its time to enact both much-needed subsidy reforms and much stronger food stamp work requirements next year. It’s critical to remember that major programs like food stamps and the federal crop insurance program are not impacted regardless of whether there’s a new farm bill.”