Will The Farm Bill Pass This Week?

By Sam Lewis

Long-overdue legislation could be voted into action in the coming days

For workers of the agriculture industry, 2013 ended a bit too abruptly as John Boehner and the rest of the U.S. House of Representatives took to a year-ending recess on Friday, December 13. The adjournment left many key issues of the agriculture industry unresolved as 2014 quickly approached. Now, it seems the House is very close to reaching an agreement on the past due rules, leaving many familiar with the process to believe the Farm Bill could be approved this week.

According to the Washington Post, a deal is close to being made and if it should happen on Monday, Jan 27, Republican representatives would bring the bill up for a vote. The bill would pass if it received bipartisan support. The bill would likely pass a vote in the primarily Democratic Senate prior to the next recess, scheduled for mid-February. “We remain optimistic that we can reach agreement in time to be on the floor next week,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas told his colleagues over the weekend.

The bill — covering issues ranging from domestic crop subsidies to exports and global food aid — has been delayed primarily by a disagreement between House Speaker John Boehner and advocates of a program planning to cut milk productions should prices fall below a certain point. The Dairy Security Act, a program offering dairy producers profit-margin insurance, has received support from Collin Peterson, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. In general, farmers support the proposal, while processors of dairy products oppose it, arguing it could lead to higher milk prices. Boehner has established himself as an opponent of dairy price supporting initiatives, claiming them to be “Soviet-style.” The speaker swore to forbid a bill mentioning supply management to come to a House vote, but the proposal has been backed by both parties.

A key issue of the legislation is the cutting of funds to the food stamps program. Formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, it provides 47 million low-income citizens with means to purchase food. As the bill currently stands, lawmakers have cut about $8 billion over 10 years in the food stamps program. Previously, the Senate offered to cut $4.5 billion in cuts over ten years to the program, while the house proposed reductions of $39 billion.

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