Most members of the agriculture committees in the House and Senate come from such solidly red or blue states and districts that they will be reelected easily in November. That doesn't mean that big changes aren't coming to these committees in the next Congress.
That prospect of change—or perhaps the fear of change—is putting pressure on Congress to finish the farm bill and legalize the sale of E15 gasoline this year. Otherwise the committees will have to start over next year with new leadership.
Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, is running for the Senate, so she won’t become chair if Democrats take over the House. Craig has named Rep. Shontel Brown, who represents Cleveland and its suburbs, as vice ranking member, putting her in line to be the top Democrat on the committee. The prospect of an African-American woman from an urban district as chair makes farm leaders nervous. But Brown seems determined to convince farm leaders she can do the job. On Monday at the Agri-Pulse Summit, she emphasized that she has been visiting farms and spent more time talking about tariffs, fuel, fertilizer, E15, conservation, rural development, and staff cutbacks at the Agriculture Department than about nutrition programs.
“I chose this committee. And I chose to stay on it,” Brown said.
At the same time, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania is facing the Republican time limit on members holding committee leadership positions. Former Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma is second to Thompson in seniority, but he is also a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, so he may have a choice to make. Next in line would be Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia. Either Lucas or Scott would represent a regional shift in the top GOP leadership.
On the Senate side, Agriculture Committee ranking member Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is running for governor. Due to the retirements of Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Tina Smith of Minnesota and the decision of Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado to run for governor, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is next in line to be the top Democrat on the committee. Booker makes farm leaders nervous because he is a vegan. A key farm lobbyist said some ag leaders are hoping former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio wins his race against Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio and reclaims his seniority to become chair or ranking member on the committee. Both Booker and Brown are more critical of agribusiness than most Democrats or Republicans, but Brown would be a more traditional ag leader.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman of Arkansas is set to continue as the top Republican on the committee, but two Republicans on the panel will not be returning: Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who is retiring, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who is running for governor.
Not all House Agriculture Committee members are in safe districts. David Wasserman, the senior editor at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, lists eight committee members as vulnerable in the midterms: Democratic Reps. David Scott of Georgia, Don Davis of North Carolina, Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan, and Adam Gray of California; as well as Republican Reps. Zach Nunn of Iowa, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Monica De La Cruz of Texas, and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.
Wasserman also noted that redistricting in California has put five Republican seats in “deep trouble,” including those of Rep. David Valadao, a member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who served on the Agriculture Committee.
Republicans will also need to find successors on the House Agriculture Committee for Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Dan Newhouse of Washington, who are retiring, and Reps. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and Randy Feenstra of Iowa, who are running for governor.
Feenstra’s situation demonstrates how the current standoff on agricultural policy can affect broader politics. Midwesterners are pushing hard to convince Congress to legalize the sale of E15, a 15 percent ethanol fuel blend, year-round and nationwide. It’s not allowed under current law on the grounds that it’s unsafe for certain vehicles and can contribute to smog in summer. Feenstra is a co-chair of the Rural Domestic Energy Council, which House Speaker Mike Johnson appointed to come up with a compromise that can satisfy the tiny House Republican majority.
So far no E15 deal has been announced, which raises questions about Feenstra’s leadership skills. He faces four competitors in the June gubernatorial primary. and the winner will face state Auditor Rob Sand, who is unusually popular for a Democrat in Iowa.
