Farm bill
Congress sets the rules but farm subsidies are ‘a great investment,’ says Perdue
Farm bill would loosen subsidy rules
With the farm bill potentially days away from congressional approval, House and Senate negotiators are ready to let distant relatives of farmers qualify for crop subsidies, said an ag lobbyist. Agricultural leaders in Congress hope to release details of the 2018 farm bill early this week, which would open the path to a final vote in each chamber in a matter of days.
Final farm bill hurdle: White House forestry demands
Congressional leaders are taking a direct hand in the final farm bill fight—the Trump administration's demands for a freer hand in fire prevention in national forests—with a decision possible as early as today that would allow a lame-duck vote on the $87 billion-a-year legislation. Negotiators have resolved the headline issue, a proposal by House Republicans for stricter SNAP work requirements, but are keeping it under wraps until the compromise bill is complete.
White House delays farm bill in fight over forests, says senator
Three weeks remain in the lame-duck session and farm bill negotiators are at odds over the forestry title of the farm bill despite hopes of enacting the bill this year. Vermont Sen. Pat Leahy puts the blame on the Trump administration and House Republicans for seeking "extremely partisan provisions on behalf of a small minority in the timber industry."
As lame duck session opens, farm bill isn’t ready for a vote
A month ago, the lead negotiators on the farm bill linked arms in a show of unity and said they wanted to have the $87 billion-a-year legislation ready for a vote when Congress convened for its post-election session. The lame duck session opens today and one lobbyist says there is no chance of a vote this week because of many unresolved issues, including the headline question of stricter SNAP work requirements.
Trump: ‘We don’t have enough votes’ for stricter SNAP rules
Banking on Republican gains in the midterm elections, President Trump said Congress could wait until next year to pass the farm bill because "we don't have enough votes" now for stricter work requirements for millions of SNAP recipients. Trump, who signed an executive order in April calling for new and stronger work requirements for social programs, has sided with House Republicans on the major dispute of the 2018 farm bill, now nearly a month overdue.
Farm bill proposal on yields ‘does not seem prudent,’ say analysts
House Agriculture chairman Micheal Conaway says he tried to help every section of the country in his version of the 2018 farm bill, which was ratified by his fellow House Republicans but now is stalled by myriad House-Senate disputes. One of the House provisions, to give some but not all growers the opportunity to potentially increase their subsidy payments, "does not seem prudent," said four university economists.
Farm bill deadlock raises chances of short-term extension
Congress could adjourn for this year without enacting a new farm bill because of the Senate vs. House standoff over SNAP, said Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, one of two senators on Tuesday to suggest an extension of the farm law that expired at the start of this week. President Trump has backed House Republicans in demanding stronger work requirements on a larger number of food stamp recipients.
The “big four” look to next steps for expiring farm bill
Farm bill negotiators are expected to acknowledge today that they will miss the only deadline they have set for themselves: Enactment of the 2018 farm bill by the end of September, now four days away. The "big four" leaders of the talks, who have been loath to discuss a Plan B in hopes of a last-minute miracle of consensus, will meet face to face to discuss the path to farm bill passage.
If Congress misses farm-bill deadline, how long will it take to finish the job?
Barring a dramatic breakthrough, farm-state lawmakers will miss their target of enacting the 2018 farm bill in the next six days, according to two of the Senate and House negotiators charged with finding a compromise. SNAP, specifically House Republicans' demands for stricter work requirements for food-stamp recipients, is the major obstacle for the conferees, but there are differences across all sections of the $87-billion-a-year legislation.
Bipartisan coalition of House members urge inclusion of local agriculture program in farm bill
A bipartisan coalition of 43 members of the House urged farm bill conferees to include the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) in the final version of the farm bill. In a letter sent Tuesday, the members expressed support for permanent mandatory funding for LAMP, a provision included in the Senate version of the bill.
Speaker Ryan says SNAP work requirement vital for U.S. growth
With time short for agreement on the farm bill, House Republicans are insisting on a stronger work requirement as a condition of eligibility for SNAP. Over the weekend, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "[H]aving a work requirement in food stamps, having an education requirement in food stamps, is the best possible way" to put Americans to work.
As farm bill conference begins, Grassley says he may vote ‘no’ in the end
Senate and House negotiators will make little progress during a pro forma public meeting today despite expressions of determination to agree on, and enact, a compromise farm bill before the 2014 farm policy law expires at the end of this month. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the dogged advocate of stricter farm subsidy rules, said on Tuesday that he might vote against the farm bill if his payment limit provision is cut.
Districts of House farm bill conferees draw over $9 billion in food and farm aid
A new analysis of USDA data by the Daily Yonder found that the districts of the 47 members of the House of Representatives who are serving on the farm bill conference committee receive over $9 billion in food and farm aid through nutrition programs and farm payments. The conferees will work to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the farm bill over the coming weeks.
Pencil in September 5 for farm bill meeting
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."
Top Republicans in House and Senate press on SNAP work requirements
A small group of negotiators will write the final version of the $87-billion-a-year farm bill in the weeks ahead, and they are under pressure from high-ranking conservatives in Congress to require millions of people to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said over the weekend that work requirements are "really important" in a booming economy.
Representative urges colleagues to fight an ‘unconscionable’ House farm bill
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, a longtime champion of nutrition programs and a farm bill conferee, urged his colleagues not to support the House bill’s language around nutrition programs. “It is vital that we stand strong and that we side with the Senate … with regard to their language in the nutrition title,” he said in an interview on Thursday with the Food Research and Action Center.
Senate names high-power team for farm bill negotiations
When farm bill negotiators get down to business, the 47 House "conferees" will face an unusually big-caliber Senate team, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as one of its members, a rare role for the leader. Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, in cheering the formal appointment of their nine negotiators, used "bipartisan" to describe their approach and take a swipe at the Republican-written House farm bill and its proposal to require more people to work 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps.