By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, the chairman of the Agriculture Committee and a leading lawmaker on electric vehicles and cryptocurrency policy, said on Thursday she would not seek the – re-election in 2024.
Stabenow, a Democrat, is in her fourth term in the United States Senate.
Stabenow’s seat could be crucial to control the Senate in 2205. Democrats currently control the Senate by a slim 51-49 majority, but have 23 seats up for grabs in the 2024 election — including the seats of three independents who are at odds with Democrats — while that the Republicans have 10 seats to defend.
Stabenow authored legislation in 2007 to create a US government auto loan program that helped finance the production of low-emission vehicles for Ford Motor, Tesla and Nissan, and was a key proponent of the bailout of the government of General Motors and Chrysler in 2008.
Stabenow, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, was a proponent of expanding EV tax credits and had supported President Joe Biden’s unsuccessful efforts to increase credits for manufactured EVs from the union.
Stabenow will help lead negotiations in the coming months for a massive five-year farm spending bill that will fund US public food grants and soft commodity programs.
The current $428 billion farm bill expires on September 30.
“The climate crisis is real. Millions of Americans, including millions of children, are food insecure,” she told Reuters in November.
About 75% of farm bill funds go to anti-hunger programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. USDA data shows that approximately 41 million people received SNAP benefits in 2022.
In November, Stabenow said Congress should pass legislation following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and lawmakers should provide “necessary safeguards for the digital commodity market.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
