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Senator Marshall suggests USDA is using CCC to bypass farm bill
US Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas is concerned USDA is using Commodity Credit Corporation funds to evade the farm bill process.
Marshall wrote a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack following an announcement Monday unveiling the Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative, which would use $1 billion from the CCC account to fund demonstration projects on creating carbon markets.
Marshall says while he is a supporter of conservation, after coupling this announcement with another $3 billion of CCC funds set aside for programs just prior to the close of Fiscal Year 2021 “it seems USDA is crafting its own farm bill by using the CCC to create its own programs that have not been established by congress.” Marshall adds that their “unilateral actions are threatening the ability of congress to build a bipartisan farm bill.”
He says congress has set an annual limit of CCC funds that can be used on programs like this and has requested copies of transcripts and meeting notes to clarify who was involved in creating the programs and who approved the funding.
