Two new Republicans on House Agriculture
Republican Reps. Troy Balderson of Ohio and Chris Jacobs of New York are newly appointed members of the House Agriculture Committee, announced Rep. Michael Conaway, the GOP leader on the panel, on Thursday.
Former Ag chairman Conaway, farm subsidy defender and SNAP skeptic, will retire
Staunch conservative Michael Conaway, an eight-term Republican from west Texas and the most divisive House Agriculture chairman in decades, said on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of 2020.
GOP adds three newcomers to House Ag; former chair Lucas takes a break
Although they’re in the minority, Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee will work for regulatory relief at home for farmers and ranchers and market access abroad for U.S. farm exports, said Rep. Michael Conaway, the GOP leader on the committee, on Wednesday.
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.
The only path to 2018 farm bill runs through Senate, say activists
If Congress fails to pass a farm bill this year, it will be the fault of House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway, who would harm SNAP and land stewardship programs, said six anti-hunger, environmental and small-farm groups on Monday. It was the first time in months of farm bill …
‘It’s not just SNAP.’ Regional shift in subsidies tying up farm bill, Stabenow says.
House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway would move hundreds of millions of dollars in crop subsidies to cotton growers to the disadvantage of northern farmers, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, one of the “big four” farm bill negotiators. “It’s not just about SNAP,” said Stabenow during a …
Conaway blames Senate as farm law lapses
Two days after farm bill negotiators declared unity in working together on the 2018 farm bill, the House author of the most controversial proposal on the table — stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients — attacked Senate negotiators as weak-willed.
House Ag chairman was among investors in Innate Immunotherapeutics
In early 2017, House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway was among U.S. representatives who purchased stock in the Australian biomedical company that's at the center of insider-trading charges against New York Rep. Chris Collins. The comparatively wealthy Conaway bought shares of Innate Immunotherapeutics in January and February 2017 through a Merrill Lynch account that he owns jointly with a family member, said the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
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.
With a bit of help, House GOP breezes past farm bill obstacles
Democrats joined the Republican majority to defeat the final challenges to crop subsidies in the House farm bill on Thursday, immediately followed by two-party teamwork to reject a more stringent line of SNAP work requirements than were written into the bill.
Sharp division, specter of 2013 defeat in farm bill debate
House Democrats stood solidly against the GOP-written farm bill in a test vote on Wednesday that gave Agriculture Committee chairman Michael Conaway little room to maneuver on the legislation, which would tighten work requirements for food stamps and loosen subsidy rules for farmers.
In House, ‘a lot of undecideds’ on farm bill
While ready to move on the farm bill, House Republican leaders are giving Agriculture Committee chairman Michael Conaway time to persuade "a lot of undecideds" to vote for tougher work requirements for SNAP recipients and looser subsidy rules for farmers. A sizable number of Republican lawmakers say Conaway wasn't tough enough on either group and want to tighten the access to federal support.
Trump urges speedy work on farm bill; GOP sets House debate
House Republican leaders have scheduled the farm bill for debate next week, confident that when the time comes, a majority will vote for its combination of tougher work requirements for SNAP recipients and looser subsidy rules for farmers.
House Republicans will pass farm bill on their own, says Conaway
With Democrats solidly in opposition, House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway says he will canvass his Republican colleagues to make sure they will pass, as early as next week, a farm bill that toughens work requirements on SNAP recipients and loosens crop subsidy limits for farmers. Passage could require a repeat on the House floor of the party-line approval in committee on April 18 of the most partisan farm bill in years.
Farm bill erases subsidy limits, say AEI panelists
The Republican-written farm bill awaiting a vote in the House effectively eliminates the USDA’s weak limits on farm subsidy payments, said two economists on Thursday. Separately, two free-market groups said the bill was “rife with corporate welfare” and lacked “badly needed reforms.”
Show of opposition: No Democratic amendments for farm bill, says Peterson
Just as they did at committee level, House Democrats will show their opposition to the Republican-written farm bill by refusing to offer amendments during floor debate, said Rep. Collin Peterson on Wednesday.
Conaway seeks ‘Trump-style loyalty pledge’ for farm bill, say Democrats
Michael Conaway says House Republican leaders will strong-arm opponents out of the way of floor passage of his farm bill, which will toughen work requirements for SNAP benefits while relaxing subsidy rules. According to Conaway, no one will be allowed to offer an amendment to the bill without promising beforehand to vote for passage, prompting four key Democrats to accuse Conaway of demanding "a Trump-style loyalty pledge."
House conservatives: End crop subsidies, slash crop insurance, block-grant SNAP
If the House followed the lead of the Republican Study Committee, it would abolish crop and dairy subsidies, slash taxpayer support for crop insurance, phase out the USDA’s two largest soil and water conservation programs, and convert SNAP funding to block grants to states.
Peterson’s farm bill plan: ‘Ask a lot of questions and vote no’
The Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee said that “you can’t fix a bad bill,” so when the committee meets on Wednesday to vote on the proposed farm bill, “We’re going to ask a bunch of questions and vote no.”