The Senate has a busy schedule for next month but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday there will be time to pass a final version of the 2018 farm bill. Farm bill negotiators are expected to meet on September 5, according to Capitol Hill sources, although the official line is, “We haven’t announced a date yet.”
The September 5 meeting is likely to be a pro forma session, full of promises of comity while reconciling sharply different proposals from the House and Senate on issues such as SNAP, while the work will be performed out of sight, said a farm lobbyist. Congressional rules require so-called conference committees that resolve differences over legislation to meet in public at least once.
“Conference reports don’t take a long time and they’re privileged,” meaning action cannot be blocked, said McConnell, who is a farm bill conferee. The Senate agenda in September will include government funding bills, the farm bill and a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, he said. “I think we can sandwich all of that in.”