Big lobbying groups spend $400M on farm bill: Report

Pharmaceutical, manufacturing and big agriculture interests have spent more than $400 million lobbying Congress on a new farm bill, a new report has found.

That’s more than four times the amount of money spent by the public sector and civil society, according to public data compiled by the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS). The group found that nonprofits, labor unions, state and local governments and tribal nations spent a total of $95 million over the same period.

“The food and farm bill has the power to transform our food and farm system, and agribusiness and industry groups know this,” report co-author Karen Perry Stillerman said.

These groups “started lobbying from almost the moment the last farm bill was enacted, showing that these groups are always working to influence this legislation in their favor.”

The last farm bill was enacted in 2018 and was set to expire in 2023, before it was extended by one year. Congress’s budget for the total package is estimated at approximately $1.5 trillion, to be spent over 4 years.

Spending sped up last year as the farm bill’s expiration after five years neared, the report said.

Earlier this month, America got a picture of dueling Republican and Democratic priorities for the farm bill. Both proposals included language to increase crop insurance for the biggest agricultural operations growing commodities like corn, soy, wheat, dairy, lumber and sugar.

Both parties’ proposals also include heightened support for American food exports.

Both Democrats and Republicans want to increase funding to crop insurance programs, though Republicans have gone further in this regard.

“A pay-to-play food policy that prioritizes corporate profits is bad for the well-being of people and the environment,” UCS authors concluded.

“Lawmakers should center the needs of small and midsize farms, diverse farmers, food workers and farmworkers, consumers, and communities — not just the needs of giant corporations — when writing this legislation.”