WASHINGTON (DTN) -- U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Wednesday he favors increasing the $30 billion per year borrowing limit for the Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA's line of credit at the Treasury Department.

The CCC was set up in the 1930s to stabilize farm income and prices, support agricultural exports, and provide disaster assistance. The agriculture secretary can borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury, and appropriators replenish the fund at the end of the fiscal year.

Hoeven made the statement at a subcommittee hearing at which Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was testifying on President Trump's fiscal year 2027 Agriculture budget request.

At a House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing last week, Rollins said she believes the limit should be increased, and Hoeven agreed that the CCC limit needs to be increased and updated.

Rollins said she didn't want to speak on "behalf of the administration," but that she personally believes an increase is needed, particularly due to conflicts overseas.

Rollins noted that the CCC will be used to pay farmers the increased benefits that were passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Rollins said there were "a lot of new commitments made" under the OBBBA. Those commitments were "welcome," but the CCC "has become committed, perhaps overcommitted" as the new payments are scheduled to begin in October, she said. Rollins added that there are "other potential significant projects" that will need CCC funding.

Rollins said last week it is up to Congress to find a legislative vehicle to increase the CCC limit. Hoeven did not say anything concerning how to go about convincing Congress to pass the increase, but he noted that the CCC has been used by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Hoeven also said he is supportive of the Trump administration request for $55 million to move USDA staff out of Washington to other parts of the country.

Rollins said she would announce further plans for the reorganization of the Forest Service by the end of the week, but Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., urged her not to move two research facilities in New Hampshire. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., also expressed concerns about Forest Service changes.

Rollins told Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., that she agrees that "ultraprocessed, lab-grown" products should not be labeled as meat or as "Product of the USA."

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas, should be fully operational as soon as possible to replace the Plum Island facility off New York state. Moran said he understands the holdup is due to the Homeland Security Department, perhaps due to the impasse over its funding, and Rollins said she has spoken to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin about it.

Rollins also promised Moran and Shaheen, the ranking member on the subcommittee, that she will follow Congress' directives on Food for Peace even though the administration has said it would like to provide no money for the program. Moran said he would continue his efforts to move Food for Peace permanently from the State Department to USDA.

In response to questions from Shaheen about cuts to vouchers for fruits and vegetables under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Rollins said the Trump administration called for cuts as part of its effort to reduce the deficit.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Rollins she was disappointed by the administration's proposed cuts to rural development programs and sought her commitment to continue funding on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., both asked about vaccines for high-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), but Rollins said vaccines have not been proven effective in any country yet and that she is reluctant to commit the United States to the vaccines out of fear that HPAI could mutate to infect people.

Also see, "Ag Secretary Wants Congress to Increase Limit for CCC Line of Credit," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

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