No approps bills on floor but school lunch still big issue
July 08, 2014 | 01:29 PM
A key farm lobbyist has told The Hagstrom Report that the school lunch issue may be keeping the House Republican leadership from bringing up the fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill just as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sam Kass, the president’s senior nutrition adviser, plan to meet with a wide range of school lunch advocates this week.
Neither the Senate Democratic leadership nor the House Republican leadership has announced plans to bring their versions of the fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bills to the floor this week, even though the Appropriation committee in each chamber has approved its version.
The Senate remains mired in conflicts between Democrats and Republicans over rules to amend appropriations bills. The House considered part of its bill but the House Republican leadership pulled it from further floor action after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., was defeated in his primary.
A knowledgeable farm lobbyist said House Republican leaders may be worried about whether the bill would have enough votes for final passage, no matter how the battle over school lunch turns out.
The House bill contains a provision that would require the Agriculture Department to grant a waiver from healthier school meals rules if the school says it has been losing money on its lunch program for six months. But House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Sam Farr, D-Calif., has said he is planning to introduce an amendment to strike the provision.
Democrats have mostly said they will support the motion to strike, and advocates for the healthier meals rules have said they have made some progress in convincing Republicans to join them.
But the lobbyist has said it is unclear whether the bill would have the votes to pass whichever way the school meals vote goes, noting it is likely that some tea party-minded House members would vote against the appropriations bill on ideological grounds no matter how the school lunch fight goes. And some Democratic votes would be needed to pass it.
If the Republicans manage to keep the waiver provision, there's a question of how many Democrats would vote for the bill on final passage. And if the Democrats manage to pass the strike provision, then more Republicans might move against it, again creating a question of whether there would be enough votes to pass the measure.
Neither the Senate Democratic leadership nor the House Republican leadership has announced plans to bring their versions of the fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bills to the floor this week, even though the Appropriation committee in each chamber has approved its version.
The Senate remains mired in conflicts between Democrats and Republicans over rules to amend appropriations bills. The House considered part of its bill but the House Republican leadership pulled it from further floor action after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., was defeated in his primary.
A knowledgeable farm lobbyist said House Republican leaders may be worried about whether the bill would have enough votes for final passage, no matter how the battle over school lunch turns out.
The House bill contains a provision that would require the Agriculture Department to grant a waiver from healthier school meals rules if the school says it has been losing money on its lunch program for six months. But House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Sam Farr, D-Calif., has said he is planning to introduce an amendment to strike the provision.
Democrats have mostly said they will support the motion to strike, and advocates for the healthier meals rules have said they have made some progress in convincing Republicans to join them.
But the lobbyist has said it is unclear whether the bill would have the votes to pass whichever way the school meals vote goes, noting it is likely that some tea party-minded House members would vote against the appropriations bill on ideological grounds no matter how the school lunch fight goes. And some Democratic votes would be needed to pass it.
If the Republicans manage to keep the waiver provision, there's a question of how many Democrats would vote for the bill on final passage. And if the Democrats manage to pass the strike provision, then more Republicans might move against it, again creating a question of whether there would be enough votes to pass the measure.
