California Democratic Rep. Jim Costa will challenge House Agriculture ranking member David Scott of Georgia — who has been absent recently because of health problems — to be top Democrat on the panel next Congress.
Costa is the second-highest ranking Democrat on the committee and has a long history in the agriculture sector. He announced his interest Wednesday at a California delegation meeting and has reached out to members on the committee to discuss the farm bill on Thursday, a congressional aide said.
An aide to Costa said they haven’t confirmed anything yet regarding the farm bill meeting.
Costa declined to discuss his agenda if he becomes ranking member and said in late afternoon that he hadn’t talked to Scott about the bid.
Costa unsuccessfully challenged Scott to be the top Democrat in 2019. Scott ultimately won, becoming, in the 117th Congress, the committee’s first African American chair. But the 79-year-old’s time as top Democrat has been marked by health challenges.
Scott is currently receiving treatment in Georgia for his back and will be absent from House votes until after the members return from Thanksgiving recess on Dec. 3, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday. Scott’s staff didn’t respond to requests for comment.
An aide to another lawmaker on the panel said the push to replace Scott isn’t due to his health issues but stems from concerns about his ability to push back on Republican proposals. The House farm bill advanced out of committee by a 33-21 vote in May.
Four Democrats — Reps. Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Don Davis of North Carolina and Sanford D. Bishop Jr. of Georgia — joined the Republicans in approving the bill.
Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., confirmed Tuesday that he’s eyeing a one-year farm bill extension, which would pave the way for the next five-year farm bill to be passed during the 119th Congress, when Republicans will have control of both chambers and the White House.
Democrats may find it a challenge to advance their interests in a new farm bill. Costa has been encouraged by members of the party to angle for ranking member, and the thinking among Democrats is that Costa will have more stamina to push back against Republicans, the second lawmaker’s aide said.
Costa grew up working on his family’s dairy farm and has remained in the sector, farming almonds in California’s San Joaquin Valley. He has been in the House since 2005.
Costa helped write the 2008, 2014 and 2018 farm bills. He advocated for specialty crop farmers and helped secure horticulture as a separate title in 2008, a title that still remains.
California is the top specialty producer with over 400 crops reported, according to the Agriculture Department. California is one of the few states to produce commodities like almonds, artichokes and broccoli.
Costa grew his specialty crop portfolio when he joined Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and David Rouzer, R-N.C., in relaunching the Congressional Specialty Crop Caucus in April.
“Any Farm Bill must include strong, bipartisan support for specialty crops,” Costa said in a statement at the time. “This caucus will continue advocating for policies that allow Specialty Crop growers to continue providing American families with safe, healthy foods.”
Costa has sponsored four bills in the current Congress that have been referred to the committee related to rural development, dairy incentives, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions and the Conservation Reserve Program.
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