OMAHA (DTN) -- Congress appeared to reach an agreement on a year-end spending deal that includes $10 billion in economic aid to farmers and reportedly provides ethanol producers the opportunity to sell E15 year-round nationally.
While House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced that a deal had been reached on a funding bill for the government and $100 billion in aid for natural disasters, the actual bill text had not been released by late afternoon on Tuesday. The spending bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, drew fire from House Republicans because of the lack of spending cuts and the late timing of the bill.
Johnson also talked about economic aid for farmers. He mentioned the number of people who had pressed Congress to act in the past few days.
"I think the people involved understand that, and it sends a signal to lenders and creditors that Congress will not abandon our food producers," Johnson said.
Among some of the top-line provisions for agriculture:
-- $10 billion in financial aid to farmers suffering from low prices.
-- A one-year extension of the farm bill through Sept. 30, 2025, including funding for the so-called "orphan programs" that require renewed funding authorization to keep going.
-- E15 will be allowed to be sold year-round nationally.
The bill, expected to be 1,500 pages long, will continue to fund the federal government through March 14. Congress will scramble to pass the bill because the current funding bill expires on Saturday.
The E15 provisions are a bit of a surprise, but it has been a long-standing issue for the industry. This past year, the EPA approved year-round E15 for eight Midwest states after an executive action by President-elect Donald Trump in his first term was overturned by courts.
Reuters cited that in return for year-round E15, "several" small refiners will get relief from Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits that did not qualify for small-refinery exemptions in 2018.
The economic disaster aid became one of the big sticking points late last week. When congressional leaders declared talks over a one-year farm bill extension had broken down, agricultural groups stepped up their lobbying efforts over the weekend. Farm groups pressed lawmakers to provide economic aid in the bill or vote it down.
Without detailed text, it was unclear exactly how the economic aid package might break down. Posts on social media implied dollar figures based on planted acres that, if were true, would have paid out far more to producers than $10 billion.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., told Reuters on Tuesday, "The $10 billion is a great start, and I think it's going to send the right signals to the market that most farmers and ranchers are going to be able to get eligible to the credit that they need to borrow in order to plant a crop or raise a herd."
With time running out, The Hill also reported Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was planning to hold up the bill in the Senate unless there were votes to offset some of the spending in the package. Given the short timeframe before Saturday, any single senator could gridlock the process.
Separately Tuesday, House Democrats also voted for Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., to become ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee in the next Congress.
See "Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig Wins Vote to Be Top Democrat on House Ag Committee" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….
Also see "Congress Races to Finalize Budget Package, Including Economic Aid for Farmers" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
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