HURON – South Dakota’s lone House member said Wednesday he and others continue to press Democratic leaders to move forward on the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement and to end a roadblock to Market Facilitation Program payments to producers.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., took to the House floor to argue the merits of the so-called USMCA pact, saying it would mean a $2 billion boost to the farm economy.
“It’s been 292 days since the administration finished its work,” he said in a conference call with reporters. There wasn’t a reason for the delay in July nor is there a reason now in September, he said.
“It’s time for the speaker to put this on the floor,” Johnson said.
MFP assists farmers and ranchers with commodities directly impacted by unjustified foreign retaliatory tariffs, leading in the loss of traditional export markets, according to the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
Assistance is available for agricultural producers of non-specialty crops, dairy, hogs and specialty crops.
Johnson said House Democrats are attempting to deny USDA the funds necessary to make MFP and Farm Bill payments as the parties haggle over the budget near the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30.
“There isn’t any reason why they should be taking any farm programs hostage,” he said.
But he said backers of the payments believe they are doing a good job of beating the opposition back, and that rumors circulating in the Capitol Wednesday were that a deal was being brokered although he had no details yet.
Meanwhile, Johnson said he also understood that President Trump might unveil his administration’s plan for ethanol sometime Wednesday after tweeting last week he was prepared to do so.
“That gives us some reason for optimism,” he said.

With two ethanol plants out of business in the last few days, a better job must be done so that Environmental Protection Administration policy matches congressional intent, he said.
In the days after Saudi Arabia’s huge oil refinery was bombed, energy independence for the United States is more important than ever, he said.
“This is not a time to go wobbly with American energy,” Johnson said.
As for budget talks, it appears an agreement is unlikely before the next fiscal year begins in a little more than a week. Continuing resolutions to keep the government open are an embarrassment for the country and should only be acceptable when something unexpected pops up, he said.
If something isn’t done by the end of September, it will push the next vote for either an omnibus bill or a continuing resolution to just before Thanksgiving.
Could something positive happen then?
“When you feel the call to go home for the holidays, you kind of lose your will to fight,” he said.
With tensions once again on the rise in the Middle East with accusations that it was Iran that was behind the attack on a major Saudi Arabian oil refinery, Johnson was asked for his thoughts.
It’s a rapidly evolving situation that is impacting every developed nation in the world, he said.
“I still don’t think we have a clear understanding of who did what and when,” he said.
While he said he is looking forward to a briefing from the administration when it has more details, he has been impressed that in recent months Trump has taken a cautious approach to incidents like this rather than rushing in.
“It seems he’s more interested in doing it right than doing it quickly,” Johnson said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meeting with Saudi Arabian officials, termed it an “act of war.”
“This is incredibly disruptive”  for every country dependent on petroleum products, Johnson said.
“It is something we can’t be cavalier about. We have to take it very seriously. It’s certainly an act of war against the world economy.”
The administration has a team working on even more sanctions against Iran as it sustains a maximum pressure campaign, Johnson said.
But with so many sanctions already in place, “it’s hard to imagine there are any other places they could look.”

To clarify Johnson's remarks regarding a budget vote coming just before Thanksgiving, here is his full quote:
“There are a number of reasons why members of leadership have traditionally pushed for that kind of date. That is a date that extracts a fair amount of pain in members who maybe don’t want to vote for a budget deal.
“When you start to feel the call to go home for the holidays maybe you lose your will to fight. But the reality is there’s no reason why we can’t have this year’s budget done on time.”