Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns’s expected decision to run for a Nebraska Senate seat provides a boost for Republicans, but drew quick criticism from some Democrats who say the secretary should finish what he started on the 2007 farm bill.
{mosads}“Just to take a walk in the middle of a farm bill that only happens once every five years, it borders on irresponsible,” Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) told reporters Wednesday. He said Johanns should stay at his post until work concludes on a 2007 farm bill that was approved in the House but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
“I do think that as the head of the Department of Agriculture, the most responsible thing for him would be to stay with it until we’ve got it across the finish line,” said Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), who like Conrad is a member of the Agriculture Committee. The current farm bill expires at the end of this month.
The criticism likely foreshadows a Democratic line against Johanns if he becomes the GOP nominee to succeed retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). Former Democratic Congressman Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas) warned that Johanns could be imposing a self-inflicted blow to his political future in Nebraska, where the farm bill is a huge policy issue.
“It’s always helpful that if you sign on for a job, that you complete the job,” said Stenholm, who is now a lobbyist on agriculture issues. “If you punt in the third quarter, that can hurt you.”
Striking a different note was Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who said he didn’t think Johanns’s absence would have much of an impact, all things considered. While the administration will continue to have input, he said the new farm bill will be written by Congress.
While Johanns has been mum on his future, local GOP sources on Wednesday said the former governor would resign early next week, likely Monday, and follow his announcement with a tour of the state.
In a statement, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Spokeswoman Terri Teuber said Johanns understands that the decision is one he needs to make in the immediate future, and that he intends to do so.
Responding to Conrad’s comments, she said USDA adequately would be able to represent the administration on farm policy if Johanns left the department.
Teuber noted that Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner, whom several agriculture lobbyists have said would be a likely candidate to succeed Johanns, has attended numerous briefings on the farm bill with members of Congress and is considered an expert on farm policy. “The notion that there would be any issue of Deputy Secretary Connor leading the administration on farm discussion is simply untrue,” she said.
Whatever Johanns’s candidacy means for the farm bill, it is a badly needed win for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
The committee faces an increasing number of retirements and a tough financial situation, having raised roughly half the money of its Democratic counterpart. Johanns, the first major recruit it has landed this cycle, represents a step in the right direction.
“We are very excited about the strength of the candidates in Nebraska and we are confident the state will remain a Republican stronghold next November,” NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said.
Johanns’s entry could set up a high-profile match-up with former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D), who is mulling a run and is expected to announce his intentions soon.
First, though, Johanns would need to survive a likely difficult primary with state Attorney General Jon Bruning and former Rep. Hal Daub, who announced his candidacy earlier this week. Though Johanns is seen as the front-runner, both are expected to stay in the race and pose strong challenges. Businessman Pat Flynn is also running for the GOP nod.
Bruning, a brash young political star, has shown a willingness to go after anybody and was prepared to challenge Hagel. Before Hagel announced his retirement last week, their two campaigns engaged in several heated wars of words.
Daub, meanwhile, went up with radio ads on Wednesday.
The farm bill is likely to be an issue in both the primary and general election in Nebraska, a huge farm state.
According to the Environmental Working Group’s database on farm subsidies, Nebraska farmers received $9.6 billion in federal farm subsidies between 1995 and 2005, more than all but three other states. In 2005 alone, Nebraska producers received nearly $1.4 billion in farm subsidies from USDA.
Johanns has been the Bush administration’s top advocate for reforming the current system, which critics say funnels farm payments to large corporate farms that do not need the help. USDA launched a series of listening sessions on the old farm bill in 2006 that led to a formal proposal for a new farm bill earlier this year.
In July, Johanns recommended that the White House veto the House farm bill, partly because it falls short in the reform department.
Chances for reform in the Senate could be brighter since the Senate historically has been more supportive of limiting subsidy payments to individual farmers. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is expected to mark up legislation in the next two weeks.