Vilsack: ‘Hell to pay’ if farm bill not done; urges compromise on dairy
January 10, 2014 | 05:05 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday in two radio interviews that there will be “hell to pay” in rural America for Congress if members do not get the farm bill done soon, and that there should be a way to deal with the concerns of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on dairy policy without hurting the interests of dairy farmers.
The secretary also noted when he was interviewed by the Red River Farm Network and the Kansas Ag Network that ranchers are expecting disaster aid.
Today Vilsack published a column on the need to pass a farm bill as negotiations over the dairy title of the bill remained bogged down.
Aides to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said today they had no announcements, although Lucas and Stabenow said Thursday that they hope agreement will be reached soon.
Tom Vilsack
“Millions of folks count on the nutrition safety net as they strive to get back to work — and they’re counting on Congress to pass a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill to maintain this important effort,” Vilsack wrote.
Lucas said Thursday that he cannot proceed until the dairy issue is addressed and that he has been surprised by the unwillingness of Boehner and House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., to compromise.
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla.
“I don’t know that I understood how just hard the positions were by the two interested parties,” Lucas told Politico. “No one has shown any flexibility whatsoever. … There comes a point in time here where I have to pick a side and go with it.”
“If the conference adopts Peterson exclusively, his language on dairy, we might not have a conference report. Where do I go from there?” Lucas continued. “By the same token if the conference rejects Peterson, Collin has been a very key player in helping to pull this all together. How will he react? Will he light a match and blow up a stick of political dynamite?”
In an interview with K-101 Radio, a Woodward, Okla. station, Lucas said of Boehner and Peterson, "The best way I can describe this to my neighbors back home is think of two old herd bulls that somehow manage up in the same pasture on a summer day, and after they pop heads about so many times, temperatures rise, the attitudes harden, and think of yourself going out to separate them. “
“How you separate them without getting smashed between them is a real challenge, ‘cause I’ve gotta have a farm bill, and I’ve got to have a dairy component somehow in this farm bill. … I just have to have something where I can get them both sort of pointed in the same direction somehow.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Meanwhile, Stabenow told The Hill, “Over the weekend we’ve got to come to a conclusion here ... we are basically down to focusing on differing approaches on dairy.”
Stabenow also said that it may not be necessary to hold a public conference with votes even though there are some contentious issues outstanding.
“It would be a shame if the speaker tried to stop the farm bill at this point,” she said.
“I’m hopeful that the speaker will take a look at the fact his proposal ... would cost billions of dollars more in taxpayer money, which is certainly not something we want. There are certainly are compromises if people are willing to do that.”
“So much is locked up that may not be necessary at this point,” Stabenow said.
The secretary also noted when he was interviewed by the Red River Farm Network and the Kansas Ag Network that ranchers are expecting disaster aid.
Today Vilsack published a column on the need to pass a farm bill as negotiations over the dairy title of the bill remained bogged down.
Aides to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said today they had no announcements, although Lucas and Stabenow said Thursday that they hope agreement will be reached soon.
Tom Vilsack
“Millions of folks count on the nutrition safety net as they strive to get back to work — and they’re counting on Congress to pass a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill to maintain this important effort,” Vilsack wrote.
Lucas said Thursday that he cannot proceed until the dairy issue is addressed and that he has been surprised by the unwillingness of Boehner and House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., to compromise.
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla.
“I don’t know that I understood how just hard the positions were by the two interested parties,” Lucas told Politico. “No one has shown any flexibility whatsoever. … There comes a point in time here where I have to pick a side and go with it.”
“If the conference adopts Peterson exclusively, his language on dairy, we might not have a conference report. Where do I go from there?” Lucas continued. “By the same token if the conference rejects Peterson, Collin has been a very key player in helping to pull this all together. How will he react? Will he light a match and blow up a stick of political dynamite?”
In an interview with K-101 Radio, a Woodward, Okla. station, Lucas said of Boehner and Peterson, "The best way I can describe this to my neighbors back home is think of two old herd bulls that somehow manage up in the same pasture on a summer day, and after they pop heads about so many times, temperatures rise, the attitudes harden, and think of yourself going out to separate them. “
“How you separate them without getting smashed between them is a real challenge, ‘cause I’ve gotta have a farm bill, and I’ve got to have a dairy component somehow in this farm bill. … I just have to have something where I can get them both sort of pointed in the same direction somehow.”
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Meanwhile, Stabenow told The Hill, “Over the weekend we’ve got to come to a conclusion here ... we are basically down to focusing on differing approaches on dairy.”
Stabenow also said that it may not be necessary to hold a public conference with votes even though there are some contentious issues outstanding.
“It would be a shame if the speaker tried to stop the farm bill at this point,” she said.
“I’m hopeful that the speaker will take a look at the fact his proposal ... would cost billions of dollars more in taxpayer money, which is certainly not something we want. There are certainly are compromises if people are willing to do that.”
“So much is locked up that may not be necessary at this point,” Stabenow said.
- The Hill — Stabenow urges compromise for farm bill
- USDA Secretary’s column: A new food, farm and jobs bill to fight hunger at home
- Politico — Farm bill in trouble
- K101 Radio (on FarmPolicy.com, with transcript) — Lucas discuss farm bill
- (Audio) Red River Farm Network — Vilsack: USDA ready to implement the farm bill
- (Audio) Kansas Ag Network — Vilsack on Ag Issues program.
