House Agriculture Committee
Trump and McConnell discuss farm bill as part of lame duck agenda
While some analysts expressed skepticism about passage of the farm bill, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell discussed the bill among must-do legislation on Thursday for action in the brief congressional post-election session.
‘Not everyone will get everything they want’ in farm bill
Negotiators “are nearing agreement on many of the issues” in the farm bill, said Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts on Tuesday, although one committee member said he doubted there will be an agreement this year.
Farm bill outlook: Lame duck passage or bust
Farm bill negotiators said they expect to pass the $87-billion-a-year legislation in the lame duck session of Congress that opens on Tuesday. “I think we are relatively close,” said Collin Peterson, ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. “We could have that language ready next week when we come back.”
House elections stamp expiration date on GOP ‘welfare reform in the farm bill’
The midterm elections on Tuesday, giving Democrats control of the House beginning in January, effectively ended a Republican push for stricter SNAP work requirements in the 2018 farm bill. The elections could also be the jolt that breaks the stalemate in Senate-House negotiations over the bill. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Trump remains on top in farm country
In the end, election night turned into a gentle blue wave, showing the nation as divided as ever. As expected, suburban voters pushed back against President Trump, giving control of the House back to the Democrats, while voters in rural areas doubled down on their support of the president, flipping the Senate seats in three ag-heavy states to the Republicans. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Trump campaigning for farm-state Republicans in tight races
Turnover is in store for House Ag panel; will policy follow?
A raft of newcomers will take office in the House in January, regardless of the outcome of the Nov. 6 elections, because nearly 1 in 6 current representatives is retiring or running for another office. The shift could have a significant effect on farm and food policy.
Farm bill negotiators link arms in pledge of cooperation
The "big four" negotiators set a new target of mid-November to wrap up work on the 2018 farm bill during a half-hour meeting on Thursday, quashing partisan squabbling. In a physical show of solidarity, the Senate and House negotiators linked arms and told reporters they were making a determined effort on the $87 billion a year legislation.
Three House Ag members in toss-up races: Republicans Denham, Faso and Bost
By a tiny margin, Rep. Jeff Denham, a fourth-term Republican from the Central Valley of California, may be the most endangered member of the House Agriculture Committee, although two other Republican panelists are also in toss-up races. Analysts say Democrats increasingly are likely to win control of the House in the elections six weeks away.
Farm bill on parade: ‘Let the games begin’
When House and Senate negotiators sit down to reconcile differences between legislation, as the 56 farm bill conferees are scheduled to do on Wednesday, there are few formal rules to govern their work. "It is most common that a conference committee holds a single public meeting, sometimes for members to offer opening statements only," says one guide. Illinois Rep. Ed Madigan probably set the record for brevity with an opening statement of four words on the 1990 farm bill: "Let the games begin."
Farm bill negotiators prodded to resolve SNAP work rules
With the Senate returning early from its August recess, a panorama of farm, conservation, ag retailer, insurer, lender and antihunger groups said on Monday that urban and rural America needs prompt passage of the 2018 farm bill. The groups did not mention by name the major issue facing farm bill negotiators – the House proposal for broader work requirements for SNAP recipients – but analysts say the House plan could be a legislative poison pill.
‘Big Four’ goal is farm bill as quickly as possible
The Republican chairmen and senior Democrats on the Senate and House Agriculture committees, known collectively the “Big Four,” met on Thursday and agreed “to get a farm bill finished as quickly as possible.”
Roberts: The ‘Big Four’ should send a farm bill signal
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,” he said.
House Republicans insist on welfare reform in the farm bill
Speaker Paul Ryan put welfare reform at the top of the agenda for upcoming farm bill negotiations with the Senate, saying on Wednesday that the work-or-job-training requirements backed by House Republicans for SNAP recipients are vital for putting Americans to work.
‘It takes time to get it right’ on the farm bill
Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts, who will chair House-Senate negotiations over the farm bill, plans a thorough but timely resolution of the differences between the two chambers’ versions, said a committee spokeswoman on Monday.
Senate stands as last chance for farm bill reformers
Although Congress is weeks or even months away from sending the 2018 farm bill to President Trump for enactment, the end of the road is near for reformers, whose last chance lies in the Senate. The crop insurance industry, a popular target for fiscal hawks and other critics, is asking senators to vote against "amendments that would do significant harm" to the federally subsidized program during debate that could end with Senate passage of the bill this week.
Razor-thin House victory for GOP package of welfare reform in a farm bill
On its second try and by a two-vote margin, the Republican-controlled House passed the GOP-drafted farm bill on Thursday. The bill imposes stricter work requirements on 7 million people to qualify for food stamps while easing eligibility rules for farm subsidies.
After House rejection, farm bill timeline may stretch into 2019
In the last farm bill, conservative Republicans demanded the biggest cuts in food stamps in a generation, leading the House to defeat the bill in June 2013. It then took Congress more than six months to put the pieces together. The same outcome is possible now after a revolt by Republican conservatives defeated a new farm bill calling for stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients and looser payment limit rules for farmers. But this time the delay may stretch into the new year.