House approves rule on motion for farm bill conference with Senate
October 11, 2013 | 05:28 PM
The House has approved a rule on a motion for the House to go to conference with the Senate on the farm bill, and is expected to name conferees on the bill on Saturday. The vote was 223-189, with one Republican voting no, five Democrats voting yes, and 20 not voting.
The debate and vote followed a House Rules Committee to approve the rule and two “sense of the House” resolutions.
One is a resolution on the Agriculture secretary’s administration of tariff-rate quotas for raw and refined sugar. The other is a resolution that crop insurance should be means-tested.
The sugar resolution will be managed by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa. The crop insurance resolution will be managed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
The House is expected to debate the two resolutions later today but not to vote on them or the rule to go to conference until Saturday.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., managed the rule debate for the Republicans. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., managed the rule for the Democrats.
During the Rules meeting, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Oka., urged members of that committee to move the farm bill toward conference, partly because ranchers in South Dakota desperately need livestock disaster assistance to deal with the 60,000 cattle that were killed by a blizzard last weekend.
Lucas noted that the South Dakota ranchers had “lost the work of a lifetime, maybe generations.” He noted that many of the cattle that died had pedigrees going back farther than many Americans can trace their ancestry.
House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he would oppose the rule because he objects to the Republican plan to add Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., who is not a member of the House Agriculture Committee and who offended many Democrats by offering the work requirement amendment to the food stamp program on the House floor.
Adding a member who does not sit on Agriculture will make it harder to complete the conference, Peterson said. He added that he is unhappy about including the two resolutions on sugar and crop insurance.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has not released a list of conferees, but
Feedstuffs reported Thursday that there may be as many as 13 Republicans on that list.
Feedstuffs said a Republican roster of farm bill conferees circulating in Washington includes Lucas, subcommittee chairmen Michael Conaway, R-Texas, Rick Crawford, R-Ark., Steve King, R-Iowa, Austin Scott, R-Ga., and Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.
The list also includes the following Republican members of the committee: Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Martha Roby, R-Ala., Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, Kristi Noem, R-S.D., Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and Jeff Denham, R-Calif.
The number of Democratic conferees or any proposed names have not been announced, but House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., has said that all the Democratic conferees will be members of the committee.
If Peterson appoints the subcommittee ranking members, they would be
Reps. Timothy Walz, D-Minn., Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, David Scott, D-Ga., Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Jim Costa, D-Calif.
DTN/Progressive Farmer reported Thursday that 47 agriculture and agribusiness groups are urging Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to oppose the resolution on means-testing crop insurance premium subsidies.The groups opposed to the resolution include the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union.
The debate and vote followed a House Rules Committee to approve the rule and two “sense of the House” resolutions.
One is a resolution on the Agriculture secretary’s administration of tariff-rate quotas for raw and refined sugar. The other is a resolution that crop insurance should be means-tested.
The sugar resolution will be managed by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa. The crop insurance resolution will be managed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
The House is expected to debate the two resolutions later today but not to vote on them or the rule to go to conference until Saturday.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., managed the rule debate for the Republicans. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., managed the rule for the Democrats.
During the Rules meeting, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Oka., urged members of that committee to move the farm bill toward conference, partly because ranchers in South Dakota desperately need livestock disaster assistance to deal with the 60,000 cattle that were killed by a blizzard last weekend.
Lucas noted that the South Dakota ranchers had “lost the work of a lifetime, maybe generations.” He noted that many of the cattle that died had pedigrees going back farther than many Americans can trace their ancestry.
House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he would oppose the rule because he objects to the Republican plan to add Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., who is not a member of the House Agriculture Committee and who offended many Democrats by offering the work requirement amendment to the food stamp program on the House floor.
Adding a member who does not sit on Agriculture will make it harder to complete the conference, Peterson said. He added that he is unhappy about including the two resolutions on sugar and crop insurance.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has not released a list of conferees, but
Feedstuffs reported Thursday that there may be as many as 13 Republicans on that list.
Feedstuffs said a Republican roster of farm bill conferees circulating in Washington includes Lucas, subcommittee chairmen Michael Conaway, R-Texas, Rick Crawford, R-Ark., Steve King, R-Iowa, Austin Scott, R-Ga., and Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.
The list also includes the following Republican members of the committee: Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Martha Roby, R-Ala., Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, Kristi Noem, R-S.D., Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and Jeff Denham, R-Calif.
The number of Democratic conferees or any proposed names have not been announced, but House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., has said that all the Democratic conferees will be members of the committee.
If Peterson appoints the subcommittee ranking members, they would be
Reps. Timothy Walz, D-Minn., Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, David Scott, D-Ga., Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Jim Costa, D-Calif.
DTN/Progressive Farmer reported Thursday that 47 agriculture and agribusiness groups are urging Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to oppose the resolution on means-testing crop insurance premium subsidies.The groups opposed to the resolution include the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union.
- H.R. 378 / H.R. 379 Rule
- H. Res. 378 — Expressing the sense of the House regarding certain provisions of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2642 relating to the secretary of Agriculture’s administration of tariff-rate quotas for raw and refined sugar
- H. Res. 379 — Expressing the sense of the House regarding certain provisions of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2642 relating to crop insurance
- Senate Amendment to H.R. 2642 – Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (Amendment as engrossed by Senate)
- House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 2642 (as engrossed in House)
- H.R. 2642 — Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (as engrossed by House)
