As a demonstration of congressional determination to enact the new farm bill on time, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts wants the “Big Four” negotiators to meet before the House recesses for the rest of the summer. A meeting this week would “signal to farmers that we will get a bill … before the Sept. 30 deadline,” said Roberts on Tuesday.
For the farm bill, the “Big Four” are the Republican chairmen and the senior Democrats on the House and Senate Agriculture committees. Roberts will chair the so-called conference committee that will reconcile differences between the House and Senate farm bills. The Senate is likely to appoint a smaller number of conferees than the 47 named by the House.
The major issue for negotiators will be the House proposal to require an estimated 7 million “work-capable” adults ages 18 to 59 to work at least 20 hours a week or spend equivalent time in job training or workfare to qualify for food stamps. The Senate rejected that approach by a 2-to-1 margin. “Either the House backs down on work requirements or we end up on Sept. 30 extending the [current] farm bill for one year,” said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
A spokeswoman for House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway said he wasn’t budging on work requirements, which are backed by President Trump.