A Senate Agriculture Democrat on Wednesday said lawmakers should demand answers in person from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about her department’s hold on contract payments due to farmers.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said the Agriculture Department’s freeze on millions of dollars in conservation and other payments is intensifying an economic crisis across farm country, adding to the strain of low commodity prices and outdated protection from weather disasters.
Booker, who voted for Rollins’ confirmation, said at a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing on the state of the farm economy, “If the USDA does not immediately release the funding to our farmers, I hope this committee will quickly bring her back here to explain why.”
The USDA, like other federal agencies, has indefinitely frozen an array of contracts and grants related to the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, saying it’s looking to see if they align with Trump administration priorities. Many are related to conservation practices that prevent erosion, save water and build healthier soil.
