Candidates despair about Farm Bill gridlock, Israel’s war, immigration policy

TOPEKA — Republican U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann and Democratic challenger Paul Buskirk shared frustration Thursday that Congress failed to pass a new five-year Farm Bill despite a reprieve when gridlock blocked progress a year ago.

In 2023, President Joe Biden signed a measure extending the 2018 Farm Bill for 12 months. Expiration of that deal Sept. 30 meant Congress would return after the election for a lame-duck session starting Nov. 12 to seek another extension or complete House and Senate work on a new five-year plan for agriculture and nutrition programs. Federal funding for key USDA programs otherwise ends in December.

“It’s been very, very frustrating … to say the least,” said Mann, a Salina Republican who serves the 1st District stretching from the Colorado border to Lawrence. “I’ve gone to the floor of the House 33 times now, over the last year and a half, urging Congress to get serious in acting on getting a five-year Farm Bill locked in.”

Buskirk, a Lawrence Democrat campaigning against Mann in the November election, said Farm Bill legislation historically was the epitome of bipartisanship in Congress. He said it was a tone set years ago by the late U.S. Sens. Bob Dole of Kansas and George McGovern of South Dakota. However, he said, the current composition of Congress was wallowing in a quagmire of partisan bickering over Farm Bill policy and spending.

“The lack of a bill 12 full months after the previous five-year pact expired is a glaring example of the failure of government,” Buskirk said. “Our elected representatives, from all sides, spend more time fussing and bickering with each other over ideology and party affiliation — pointing fingers and laying blame — while taking no accountability.”

Mann, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, said he supported the version of a Farm Bill passed by that committee in May. It has yet to receive a vote of the full GOP-led House. He said the U.S. Senate offered an outline of a bill, but nothing passed the Senate floor that would be subject to normal negotiations.

“We need a fiscally conservative Farm Bill that provides a good return on investment for taxpayer dollars,” Mann said. “I’m optimistic we’re going to get a five-year Farm Bill. It seems to me that there is more momentum and … more of a desire to get something done by the end of the year. I’m not guaranteeing that’s going to happen, but I am more optimistic.”

In terms of Middle East, Mann said Israel had justifiably responded to the deadly incursion by Hamas from Gaza one year ago and was appropriately fighting with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon and dealing with Iran’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles at Israel. The GOP congressman said the United States must continue to support Israel’s war effort.

“They are a sovereign nation and they have a right to respond. The bad actor in this is Iran,” Mann said. “There is a proxy war that’s been going on for a long time. It’s in our national security interest to stand with Israel because Iran has said they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.”

Buskirk said he supported Israel’s initial defense against heinous crimes committed during the invasion by Hamas. In the past 12 months, he said, there had been too much death and destruction.

“It is time for Israel and Hamas to commit to an immediate ceasefire and work toward a peaceful solution,” he said.

Buskirk said it was wrong for Mann to have voted earlier this year against sending more U.S. weapons to Ukraine in the fight against Russian forces. He said 20,000 U.S. Army troops were stationed at Fort Riley in the 1st congressional district, and some were involved in supply lines moving munitions to Ukraine.

“I fully support U.S. dollars and arms for Ukraine as they fight for their freedom,” Buskirk said. “Mr. Mann voted against U.S. arms aid to Ukraine this past spring 2024. Mr. Mann is not representing the brave people serving in the 1st Infantry Division.”

Mann said constituents in the 60-county district frequently raised questions about the U.S. border with Mexico. In terms of immigration reform, the congressman said a House-passed bill would have been adopted by now if the Senate was “serious about securing our border completely.”

“When I came to Congress almost four years ago, America was strong,” Mann said. “Our streets were safe, and our border was more secure than any other point in recent history.”

In early 2024, presidential candidate Donald Trump successfully lobbied to kill the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill in a bid to deny President Joe Biden a policy victory. Biden has since removed himself from the race, and Vice President Kamala Harris is running against Trump.

Buskirk faulted Mann for supporting Trump’s “horrendous plan to immediately identify, arrest and deport every undocumented resident in our country — affecting tens of millions of people.” He said Kansas had at least 62,000 undocumented residents, and Trump’s plan would separate families and harm the state’s economy.

“Ranchers, feed lots, dairies and meat-packing plants would all be immediately impacted and the ripple effect to the entire state and beyond would be massive,” Buskirk said.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

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