Lucas looks to ‘conversations’ with Senate on farm bill
July 12, 2013 | 03:04 PM
Although the House passed a farm bill Thursday that leaders said would move the bill forward, that path does not appear clear today.
While Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Thursday that she looks forward to starting a conference with the House even though she doesn’t like the House bill, House Agriculture Committee Frank Lucas, R-Okla., did not use the word “conference” in his statement.
“I look forward to continuing conversations with my House colleagues and starting conversations with my Senate colleagues on a path forward that ultimately gets a farm bill to the president’s desk in the coming months,” Lucas said.
The bill passed 216 to 208, two votes less than a House majority because some members did not vote. No Democrats voted for the bill, 12 Republicans voted against it and six members did not vote. (See link)
The bill did not include a nutrition title that would authorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but did include a measure that would repeal the 1938 and 1949 farm laws and make the commodity title of the 2013 law permanent.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he would do “whatever it takes” to get the farm bill done, but added, “Make no mistake, the House’s failure to pass a full farm bill is nothing short of irresponsible …”
“I’m proud to have helped pass six farm bills into law, and I have never witnessed such a sloppy process …,” Baucus said.
“These days, fewer and fewer folks understand where their food comes from, let alone the needs of the hardworking farmers and ranchers that produce it – especially urban lawmakers in Washington. So taking SNAP out of the farm bill doesn’t just harm struggling families who depend on that support, it puts the entire farm bill in jeopardy.”
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who campaigned on the need to pass a farm bill when the House failed to pass one last year, said she was pleased the House passed a bill but concerned that it did not address nutrition.
“Passing a farm bill into law requires bipartisan support, something the House has shown no interest in,” she said.
“Authorizing nutrition policies in the farm bill is necessary to maintaining the critical urban-rural coalition that has been relied upon to pass farm bills for the past four decades,” Heitkamp said. “Breaking this coalition and severing ties between farm and table is a mistake that weakens the chances that a five-year reauthorization of the farm bill becomes law.”
Lucas said in his floor speech that he would work with the committee to pass a new nutrition bill.
House Agriculture Department Operations, Oversight and Nutrition Subcommittee Chairman Steve King, R-Iowa, said, “While I am disappointed the farm bill that passed the House today did not contain changes to current nutrition policy, I am hopeful that House Leadership will bring a nutrition bill to the floor soon so we have the chance to make necessary reforms to bloated nutrition policies.”
While Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Thursday that she looks forward to starting a conference with the House even though she doesn’t like the House bill, House Agriculture Committee Frank Lucas, R-Okla., did not use the word “conference” in his statement.
“I look forward to continuing conversations with my House colleagues and starting conversations with my Senate colleagues on a path forward that ultimately gets a farm bill to the president’s desk in the coming months,” Lucas said.
The bill passed 216 to 208, two votes less than a House majority because some members did not vote. No Democrats voted for the bill, 12 Republicans voted against it and six members did not vote. (See link)
The bill did not include a nutrition title that would authorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but did include a measure that would repeal the 1938 and 1949 farm laws and make the commodity title of the 2013 law permanent.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he would do “whatever it takes” to get the farm bill done, but added, “Make no mistake, the House’s failure to pass a full farm bill is nothing short of irresponsible …”
“I’m proud to have helped pass six farm bills into law, and I have never witnessed such a sloppy process …,” Baucus said.
“These days, fewer and fewer folks understand where their food comes from, let alone the needs of the hardworking farmers and ranchers that produce it – especially urban lawmakers in Washington. So taking SNAP out of the farm bill doesn’t just harm struggling families who depend on that support, it puts the entire farm bill in jeopardy.”
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who campaigned on the need to pass a farm bill when the House failed to pass one last year, said she was pleased the House passed a bill but concerned that it did not address nutrition.
“Passing a farm bill into law requires bipartisan support, something the House has shown no interest in,” she said.
“Authorizing nutrition policies in the farm bill is necessary to maintaining the critical urban-rural coalition that has been relied upon to pass farm bills for the past four decades,” Heitkamp said. “Breaking this coalition and severing ties between farm and table is a mistake that weakens the chances that a five-year reauthorization of the farm bill becomes law.”
Lucas said in his floor speech that he would work with the committee to pass a new nutrition bill.
House Agriculture Department Operations, Oversight and Nutrition Subcommittee Chairman Steve King, R-Iowa, said, “While I am disappointed the farm bill that passed the House today did not contain changes to current nutrition policy, I am hopeful that House Leadership will bring a nutrition bill to the floor soon so we have the chance to make necessary reforms to bloated nutrition policies.”
