Marshall touts bipartisanship while denouncing Senate Democrat’s farm, nutrition bill

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas complained a version of the farm bill released after the November election by the Senate Democrats fell short because details of the farm and nutrition policy legislation weren’t the byproduct of bipartisanship.

Congress and President Joe Biden are under pressure to adopt a new five-year law, or another one-year extension of the federal program. The current law expired Sept. 30, but funding for many programs won’t run out until Dec. 31.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat and chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, made public a bill that could be taken up during the lame-duck session of Congress. Prospects of passing the Democrats’ bill were dim because the political landscape will change in January when Republicans control both the House and Senate and President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

“Chairwoman Stabenow released her farm bill text — a 1,400-page document that no Republican committee member has reviewed or had the opportunity to collaborate on,” Marshall said. “This is not a sincere or transparent effort to address the urgent needs of rural America.”

Marshall, a Republican member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said meaningful bipartisan negotiations on the farm bill had been a tradition.

He said Democrats “opted to play politics with the livelihoods of hard-working farmers and ranchers.”

In part, Marshall said, the legislation needed to confront decreases in net farm income by increasing taxpayer funding for crop insurance coverage and the price floors that trigger payments to farmers when market prices decline below a certain level.

Under the Senate version released by Stabenow, the government would add $20 billion for disaster assistance, $8.5 billion for SNAP or food stamps, and a 5% adjustment in the commodity price floor.

Methane mandates

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, said he signed onto a legal brief supporting reversal of a federal rule mandating state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations measure greenhouse gas emissions on highways.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s mandate, adopted in November 2023, was tied to tracking methane levels and setting targets for reducing pollution.

Moran contended the agency “impermissibly usurped the legislative branch’s authority and promulgated the GHG performance measure without statutory authority delegated by Congress.”

A U.S. District Court in Kentucky declared the methane mandate to be illegal, but the ruling has been appealed. In a separate lawsuit, a Texas court vacated the methane rule. That decision also was appealed.

Meanwhile, Marshall objected to a new rule from the administration of President Joe Biden to impose a fee on methane emissions from production of oil and gas. It would amount to $900 per metric ton of methane emitted over a specific performance level reported in 2024, but the fee would increase to $1,500 in 2026.

Marshall said the Biden administration’s “ill-advised” decision could harm small producers. He said most, if not all, marginal oil wells in Kansas lacked equipment to monitor methane emissions. Installation of equipment would likely make lower-producing wells unprofitable and take them out of production, he said.

The GOP senator said relief for energy producers would arrive with inauguration of Trump.

“Kansans spoke loudly on Election Day that they want to unleash domestic energy, and my message to the producers impacted by this administration’s anti-energy policies and unnecessary newly imposed fees is clear: help is on the way,” he said.

KDOT’s $31.9 million grant

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat serving the 3rd District in the Kansas City area, said the Federal Highway Administration awarded $31.9 million the Kansas Department of Transportation to promote use of construction materials that lowered greenhouse gas emissions.

The objective would be to modernize construction practices associated with materials such as concrete, cement and asphalt.

“This grant is about creating good-paying jobs, strengthening our economy and ensuring a healthier future for generations of Kansans,” Davids said. “By advancing cleaner manufacturing and modernizing construction practices, we’re not only improving our transportation networks but also opening new doors for workers and businesses across our state.”

The federal grant was available through the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by Biden in 2022.

“Securing this funding is an opportunity to streamline the adoption of innovative materials and it will have a lasting impact on our state,” said Greg Schieber, deputy secretary of the state Department of Transportation.