Bloomberg Government

By Skye Witley

Farmers and other recipients of Agriculture Department funds are uncertain whether the agency is still paying them for work under a host of federal programs, Democrats handling farm and food policy warned the Trump administration.

Acting Agriculture Secretary Gary Washington must send lawmakers a list of paused or canceled USDA program payments and, if any existed, the legal reasoning for doing so, according to a letter signed by every Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Some individuals have been told USDA payments are under a moratorium, according to a separate letter signed by House Agriculture ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and two panel members.

“Conflicting information from the administration has added to the uncertainty, costing those who depend on the Department time and money. The farmers, rural families, and businesses that depend on the Department need certainty to plan ahead for this growing season,” read the letter signed by Senate Agriculture ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and her colleagues. Both letters were released Thursday night.

The confusion follows a barrage of executive orders and mixed messaging about freezing federal funds from the Trump administration. Funding was halted for programs including agricultural research, small business innovation, and crop growing that reduces greenhouse gases, according to the House letter.

Senators also sought answers about “websites, offices, and activities impacted” by Trump’s orders. The page for USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, for example, has been taken down.

USDA didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Trump’s nominee to lead the Agriculture Department, Brooke Rollins, has named quickly disbursing economic aid for farmers that Congress approved in December as a top priority if confirmed.