At a recent town-hall meeting, House Agriculture
Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) indicated that the House debate over
action in Syria will overshadow other legislative work, but that Congress will
finish a new farm bill before the end of the year, according to a National
Journal article, available here.
Lucas began the town-hall meeting by explaining why
Congress has yet to pass a farm bill. He
acknowledged that not “enough of his Republican colleagues voted for a
comprehensive bill in June” which forced “the House leadership to bring up a
farm-program-only bill that passed with only Republican votes in July.” The House now plans to vote on a nutrition
bill in September before appointing conferees to meet with their counterparts
in the Senate. Lucas said, “It shouldn’t
be this hard to pass a farm bill that makes sure we have food.” The Senate passed a comprehensive farm bill
in June.
The current farm bill will expire on September 30, as
the new fiscal year for the federal government begins on October 1. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) said that passage of
a farm bill is his priority, according to an article by the Minot Daily News,
available here. Hoeven will serve as on the conference
committee, to find a consensus on the legislation, but before conferencing can
begin, the House must pass its bill.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow
(D-MI) voiced her frustration over the farm bill during a press conference with
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Neil Young, a musician and family farm
advocate, according to a US News article, available here. Stabenow said: “It’s time to stop kicking the
can down the road and leaving rural America and 16 million jobs hanging in
uncertainty. The Senate has agreed to go
to conference and appoint conferees, and whenever the House decides to do the
same we can more forward and finish the farm bill.”
Some have suggested another extension of the current
farm bill, but Stabenow says she will not support an extension. The press conference took place during a
rally hosted by the National Farmers Union, according to an article by Roll
Call, available here. Stabenow said, “We will not see an extension
passed, and if we did, we’d be leaving livestock producers in a lurch, and a
whole lot of other people in a lurch.”
For more information on farm bills, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s Farm Bills page. Another excellent resource for daily updates
on the farm bill is Farmpolicy.com.
