U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski was elected to Congress in 2022 representing Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of central and southern Illinois.

She graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and interned for U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt and U.S. Sen. Paul Simon. She started her career working for unions, including those representing firefighters and food workers. The Democrat was a senior advisor to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and was executive director for Climate Jobs Illinois.

Budzinski is on the House Committee on Agriculture and its subcommittees on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development; Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology; and General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit, and she is actively involved in crafting the new Farm Bill. She is also on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on the health subcommittee.

IFT: Please tell us a little about your growing-up years and what brought you to where you are today.

BUDZINSKI: Originally I’m from Peoria just outside the district I now represent. I didn’t grow up on a farm, but my grandmother was raised on one and my great-grandparents were farmers near Effingham. My first job was at the comptroller’s office in Springfield where I live now.

IFT: Why did you choose the House Agriculture Committee?

BUDZINSKI: I wanted to serve on the House Agriculture Committee because it best represents the constituents in central and southern Illinois that I represent. I graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which is in the area I represent. In this congressional district, we have a lot of family farmers — particularly in corn and soybean production. I talk a lot about technology and innovation in biofuels and research which is done at the University of Illinois and Southern University of Illinois in Edwardsville. ADM in Decatur is also in my area. Contributing to the Farm Bill is also going to be a great opportunity for the area I serve.

IFT: Farmers are concerned about educating politicians about agriculture. How have you learned more about agriculture?

BUDZINSKI: Once I was appointed to the House Ag Committee, I established an Agriculture Advisory Council with farmers, educators, ag businesses and industries. Through the Agriculture Advisory Council, I see and hear from those who touch agriculture.

This is the first year I got to participate in harvest. My friend Marty Marr (immediate past president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association) took me out on his farm while he was harvesting corn. Next year I’ll get to see a soybean harvest.

IFT: How are you passing that education on?

BUDZINSKI: I consider farmers the experts and I’ve learned so much from them. My office is working with them to educate others not as familiar with farming. We created Farm Bill 101 to help educate my constituents and colleagues about why the Farm Bill is so important to our communities and the need to get that done.

IFT: You have been vocal in asking for Climate Smart Funding in the 2023 Farm Bill. How has that effort been going?

BUDZINSKI: That’s really important. Since the climate-smart funding started, three in four EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program) applications have been turned down because we are over-subscribed. We finally have the resources through funding. I want to make sure we are protecting those conservation dollars so corn and soybean farmers can use them

IFT: The Agriculture Committee has traditionally been a bipartisan committee. Has that changed? How might it affect the next Farm Bill?

BUDZINSKI: I think we’ve been able to maintain that. I’ve been working with my Republican colleague from Des Moines to get things done. Congressman Zach Nunn from Iowa and I are working together consistently so we can get a Farm Bill across the finish line.

IFT: Can you give us a little update on the status of the Farm Bill?

BUDZINSKI: It expired Sept. 30. We are now moving toward a Dec. 31 deadline. Many programs including crop insurance and nutrition continue after the expiration date. But two that are impacted after Dec. 31 are the dairy cliff which could lead to skyrocketing high pricing for dairy products. Second is trade which is important to farmers. After Dec. 31, USDA’s budget for trade would zero out. There would be no more funding to make sure we maintain our competitive edge.

IFT: What might people not be aware of about the Farm Bill?

BUDZINSKI: I think oftentimes that a lot of people think the Farm Bill is just for farmers. However, urban and rural communities are interconnected. Jonathan Jackson represents a Chicago district, and he confronts some of the same issues as we do in Southern Illinois related to food deserts. Some issues he faces in Chicago, I face in my rural communities. The Farm Bill supports all of us.

IFT: What issues are you working on as part of the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs that farmers would be interested in?

BUDZINSKI: I serve on a subcommittee on health that deals with issues of substance abuse and mental health. Those issues extend to folks in our more rural communities especially. We need to address behavioral health for all our communities.

IFT: What is the best career or life advice you have received?

BUDZINSKI: I’d say it’s to take a risk when it’s about your passions. If you are passionate about a cause, take the risk to get involved. We could be a better country and a better world if more people were involved in issues they cared about.

IFT: What is the achievement you are most proud of so far?

BUDZINSKI: I would say it is what we have done in Cahokia Heights in southwestern Illinois where they have decades-long water issues. With our work on this, now the EPA will coordinate efforts to address sewage and water issues there.

IFT:  What is one more thing you would like to tell farmers?

BUDZINSKI: I think the Farm Bill is a great opportunity to support all our communities — both our urban and rural communities. SNAP is of interest to farmers because we are all interconnected. The Farm Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation we have in Congress.