House Sets New Vote on Farm Bill

The House has quietly delayed until June 22 Speaker Paul Ryan’s attempt to revive the farm bill. In the interim, GOP leaders intent upon removing conservative opposition to the bill will hold a vote on immigration control.

Representatives agreed to the June 22 target by passing a multi-part resolution on Tuesday that set terms of debate for three bills, including a military spending bill. The final sentence in the resolution said action on the farm bill “may continue to be postponed through the legislative day” on June 22.

“Obviously, (May 18) was regrettable. Obviously, we did not want to see members take down the farm bill,” Ryan told reporters. Thirty Republicans, half of them from the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, joined all House Democrats in defeating the GOP-written farm bill on May 18. The Freedom Caucus targeted the bill to force its leaders to call a vote on immigration legislation. The group wants a vote on a more restrictive bill than one that would help Dreamers—the undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Democrats and nearly two dozen Republicans support the Dreamers bill.

Ryan said GOP leaders are trying to “find the consensus sweet spot” on immigration. He brushed aside a question if defeat of the farm bill was a repudiation of his leadership and said the “best thing for us is to complete our agenda.”

An aide to Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts said “no date has been locked down just yet” for a committee vote on a Senate farm bill. Roberts told a Bloomberg reporter that he is aiming for a June 6 vote in committee. Roberts and the senior Democrat on the committee, Debbie Stabenow, do not plan major changes in food stamps, unlike the House bill.

The 2014 farm law expires on September 30, but many provisions will continue to operate for months. Food stamps and crop insurance are permanent programs, so they will remain in operation.

Written by House Agriculture Chairman Michael Conaway, the House farm bill would toughen work requirements for food stamp recipients and loosen payment limits for farmers. It also would eliminate the cost-sharing Conservation Stewardship Program. The top priority of farm groups for the farm bill is maintenance of a strong crop insurance program.

Source: agriculture.com