Posted December 2, 2013
While farm bill negotiators failed to meet a
self-imposed deadline of reaching a framework for a conference report before
the holidays, work has continued and those involved are optimistic that an
agreement is possible by the end of the year, according to an article by the
National Journal available here.
Ranking member Thad Cochran (R-MS), one of the principal
negotiators, said “The principals continue to talk and are having substantive
discussions. They all hope to come up
with a plan that is workable for all parts of the country.”
Some have suggested a two-year extension, but many on
both sides are opposed. Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said previously that the Senate would not pass an
extension. Mary Kay Thatcher, an
American Farm Bureau Federation lobbyist, said that an extension is an unlikely
option with “70-plus tea-party Republicans that couldn’t support that move
because they wouldn’t get any cuts in food stamps.”
One Congressional aide reacted bluntly, saying, “Who
wants to talk about a two-year extension when we are this close to getting a
farm bill done? It beats anything I’ve
ever seen.”
While there are still some issues to be worked out, the
conference has already made significant progress in reaching a deal.
Representative and conferee, Steve King (R-IA) expects
the farm bill to be finished soon, according to an article by WHO TV available here. King said, “At this point I expect to see an
almost final proposal in my hands. And I
expect that we will sit down as conferees.
And perhaps hammer out in public some of the last sticking points, but I
do expect to get a bill on the president’s desk by Christmas.”
For more information on farm bills, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
