Posted:  June 24, 2013

In the wake of last week’s stunning rejection of the farm bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has stated that “the Senate will not pass another temporary farm bill extension.”  A Reuters story about this development is available here.  This is the latest pronouncement in what has been an arduous journey for the farm bill, including not bringing a House-committee passed farm bill up for a full vote in 2012. Most provisions of the farm bill originally expired September 30, 2012 and the path forward to a new, multi-year farm bill is still not entirely clear.

According to the article, Senator Reid expressed that “If the Speaker “(John Boehner) took up the Senate’s bipartisan measure, it would easily pass the House with Republican and Democratic votes.”

The failure to pass a new, multi-year farm bill in 2012 marked the first instance in which a farm bill was proposed and passed in the same in the same Congress.  Consequently, both chambers had to start the legislative process all over in the new Congress.  The Senate passed its version of the farm bill on June 10.  The House Agriculture Committee passed its bill, only to see it defeated 234-195 on June 20.

For more information about farm bills, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center website here, including its Farm Bills page, and free-of-charge database of Congressional Research Service Reports.  Another excellent resource for daily updates on the farm bill is Farmpolicy.com, available here.