Posted December 2, 2013
While farm bill negotiators failed to meet a self-imposed deadline of reaching a framework for a conference report before the holidays, work has continued and those involved are optimistic that an agreement is possible by the end of the year, according to an article by the National Journal available here.
Ranking member Thad Cochran (R-MS), one of the principal negotiators, said “The principals continue to talk and are having substantive discussions. They all hope to come up with a plan that is workable for all parts of the country.”
Some have suggested a two-year extension, but many on both sides are opposed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said previously that the Senate would not pass an extension. Mary Kay Thatcher, an American Farm Bureau Federation lobbyist, said that an extension is an unlikely option with “70-plus tea-party Republicans that couldn’t support that move because they wouldn’t get any cuts in food stamps.”
One Congressional aide reacted bluntly, saying, “Who wants to talk about a two-year extension when we are this close to getting a farm bill done? It beats anything I’ve ever seen.”
While there are still some issues to be worked out, the conference has already made significant progress in reaching a deal.
Representative and conferee, Steve King (R-IA) expects the farm bill to be finished soon, according to an article by WHO TV available here. King said, “At this point I expect to see an almost final proposal in my hands. And I expect that we will sit down as conferees. And perhaps hammer out in public some of the last sticking points, but I do expect to get a bill on the president’s desk by Christmas.”
For more information on farm bills, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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