Posted October 17, 2013
The government
shutdown ended last night after Congress passed a continuing resolution to
fund the government and President Obama signed the bill.
In a statement this morning, President Obama said that
one of his top priorities for the rest of the year will be passing a farm bill,
according to an Agri-Pulse article, available here. The President said, “We should pass a farm
bill, one that American farmers and ranchers can depend on; one that protects
vulnerable children and adults in times of need; one that gives rural
communities opportunities to grow and the long-term certainty that they
deserve.” The President’s full remarks
are available here.
Progress on the farm bill seems to already be taking
place. Politico
reports that the farm bill’s top four negotiators met Wednesday, hosted by
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK). The four present at the meeting were Senate
Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), ranking Republican
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), and ranking Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson
(D-MN). This was the first meeting since
the House appointed its conferees last Saturday.
The first formal conference meeting between the House
and Senate could be scheduled next week, according to an aide to House
Agriculture Committee chairman Frank Lucas, as reported by Reuters, here. Lucas will chair the conference committee,
the end result being a compromise bill between the House and Senate
versions. According to two other
congressional staffers, if Congress is not in session next week, the
negotiators may not meet until the following week.
The first meeting of the House and Senate conferees
typically marks the final round of work on legislation and a final version
emerges within a few weeks.
Lucas says he is confident that there will be a
consensus on a five-year bill.
For more information on farm bills, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
