Capitol Beat: Welch votes 'no' on GOP Farm Bill

Senator Peter Welch sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and he still voted "no" on the Republican Farm Bill. That is not the action of a man who was caught off guard or handed a flawed summary. That is a deliberate choice, and it tells Vermont's farmers exactly where their senior senator stands. The bill wasn't perfect, but it moved the needle on reference prices for dairy and adjusted risk management tools in a direction that actually helps working operations, not just the conglomerates. Welch looked at that progress and walked away from a farm bill that his own committee spent months shaping.

We have to ask what the alternative is. The current law is a patchwork that punishes the small and mid-sized producers who make up the backbone of northern New England's agricultural economy. This bill wasn't a radical overhaul; it was a recalibration. It acknowledged that input costs are still brutal and that the margin between a good year and bankruptcy is thinner than ever in Washington. By voting "no," Welch sided with the idea that a perfect bill is worth waiting for, even if it means waiting through another cycle of uncertainty. That is a luxury the family farm cannot afford.

What is frustrating is the partisan framing from the other side of the aisle. The bill is being labeled as a giveaway to big ag, which ignores the fact that the nutrition title and the crop insurance provisions were negotiated in good faith. It seems the only thing Democrats are unwilling to negotiate on is giving Republicans a win on something that materially improves rural life. When the senator from Vermont votes with the leadership's talking points instead of the data from his own state's dairy farms, it says more about his political calculations than the bill's contents. It is a vote against the actual argument and for the press release.

We would have preferred to see Welch use his seat at the table to push for amendments and then vote for the framework. Instead, he chose the theatrical "no." Rural America doesn't need more grandstanding from the Senate Agriculture Committee; it needs a bill that recognizes the rising cost of feed, fuel, and land. He missed the chance to deliver that, and the farmers back home will remember it. The debate isn't over, but the position is now clear, and it is not on their side.