As crops shrivel in the field and the deadline for the 2008 Farm Bill nears, there's concern on Capitol Hill that farmers may be facing next year with nothing more than an extension of the current bill. While the U.S. Senate has passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill, the House has only gotten as far as pushing a finished bill out of its Ag Committee. This week a group of 62 representatives are pushing for more.
In a letter sent to Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., urging them to bring the farm bill to the House floor for a vote before August. Led by Reps. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., the bipartisan letter was signed by 62, all asking that the bill be taken up for consideration.
Signed by 38 Republicans and 24 Democrats, the letter is the latest move to get something going in the House on the farm bill. In the letter, the group asks for action ahead of the August District Work Period "so that the House will have the opportunity to work its will. We ask that you make the legislation a priority of the House as it is critically important to rural and urban Americans alike."
The House bill, which brings with it significant cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, an end to direct payments to farmers and other cost cuts, also ramps up crop insurance beyond what was included in the Senate version. And the House bill includes a new program to protect the dairy industry. Getting the bill to the House floor is a key move, because once passed a significant House-Senate conference committee negotiation will be needed to hammer out a final bill.