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August 10, 2024 - Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) officials say according to an official cost estimate released Friday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the House Agriculture Committee's Farm Bill would boost the federal budget deficit by $33 billion over 10 years. The funding gap could force House leaders to either direct the CBO to change its budget estimate or to modify the legislation, if they want to put the bill on the House floor.
At issue is a provision in the bill intended to suspend USDA’s use of section 5 under its Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) spending authority. CBO’s estimate of the potential savings is short of what is needed to cover the cost of several commodity program provisions, including higher reference prices in the Price Loss Coverage program.
The CBO estimates there is a 50% probability the CCC provision could save $3.6 billion between Fiscal Years 2025 through 2033. Meanwhile, the CBO estimated the bill would increase the cost of commodity programs by $43.4 billion over the same period. Other cuts in the bill lower the net cost increase to $33 billion. For additional information, see here.
ABOUT RURAL COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES OF CALIFORNIA (RCRC)
The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) is a thirty-seven member county strong service organization that champions policies on behalf of California’s rural counties. RCRC is dedicated to representing the collective unique interests of its membership, providing legislative and regulatory representation at the State and Federal levels, and providing responsible services for its members to enhance and protect the quality of life in rural California counties. To learn more about RCRC, visit rcrcnet.org and follow @RuralCounties on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Source: RCRC
