Three top Republican agriculture leaders met to discuss how to move forward with President Donald Trump's proposed farm aid package, as lawmakers race against a Jan. 30 deadline tied to broader federal funding legislation.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety; and Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, met Wednesday.
In December, Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package to support farmers facing lower crop sales and higher costs following the administration's imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods during trade negotiations.
Boozman said the group is moving quickly to finalize the plan. "We're hoping to finalize it fairly shortly," he said.
Thompson said lawmakers are now considering a package slightly larger than earlier estimates, after he previously projected the next round of assistance would total about $10 billion.
"We're hoping to pass something a little north of that," he said. "We're looking at exactly what the need is and how it would be dispersed."
Hoeven and Thompson said the aid package is expected to include funding for specialty crop producers, who sought additional help after the administration's initial farm aid rollout.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not yet announced a timeline for distributing the $1 billion allocated for specialty crops.
Thompson added that he would also like to include support for forestry and lumber producers, expanding the scope of the relief effort as lawmakers finalize the details.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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