Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
The fight over IRA money in the farm bill is taking center stage again.
Why it matters: Republicans have long sought to repurpose the IRA's climate and conservation funds, a sticking point that has the potential to derail all sorts of bipartisan priorities.
State of play: Both ag committees released outlines of their farm bill proposals this month.
- The House is proposing to reallocate unspent IRA money and remove the law's "climate sideboards to restore the locally led nature of conservation programs."
- We still haven't seen bill text from the House, but it could come any day now.
What's next: A group of House Democrats told reporters Wednesday they're gearing up to fight that effort as the House moves to the markup phase.
- Asked whether the dispute over IRA money could derail the entire farm bill, Senate Ag Ranking Member John Boozman simply said, "Yes."
- "I would like to move those conservation dollars into the farm bill," he said. "I just want it to be in actual practices that our farmers use."
Go deeper: Read Axios' scoop from last week on how the House wants to deal with aviation fuel in the farm bill.
