Republican members of the House have selected congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) currently the Ranking Member to serve as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.  Congressman Thompson was elected to the House in 2008 with a background in dairy farming and has served on the Agriculture Committee for a decade.  He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State and Temple Universities.

The challenge facing Congressman Thompson will be to develop and shepherd a farm bill through the 118th Congress. Outgoing Chairman David Scott (D-GA) noted, “Heading into the 2023 Farm Bill I’m hopeful that the collegial spirit will continue and that the Agriculture Committee will be able to deliver a Farm Bill with strong Republican and Democratic bipartisan support.”

Many of the programs relating to social support including SNAP and grants including those to the “underserved” as promoted by Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture will come under scrutiny by the majority on the Agriculture Committee.  The Farm Bill that emerges will in many respects reflect the policies of the majority party in the House. This will have implications in reconciliation with the Senate version and passage will require compromises by both sides especially in relation to social programs.