Farmers left adrift without farm bill

FRANK E. LOCKWOOD

WASHINGTON — Nearly a week after the farm bill expired, lawmakers can’t say when a new version will be approved.

That is causing angst in the agriculture community, which was hoping for a timely resolution to the standoff.

In June, the House and the Senate passed separate versions of the legislation. Since then, they’ve been unable to craft a compromise acceptable to both sides.

The farm bill sets federal agriculture policy, including commodity price supports. It also governs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — also known as food stamps.

The House version narrowly passed, 213-211, and received no Democratic votes. The Senate version drew broad bipartisan support, passing 86-11.

Three members of the Arkansas congressional delegation serve on the 56-member farm bill conference committee, which was tasked with ironing out the differences.

The House version includes stiffer work requirements for food stamp recipients. It also includes changes to forest management, championed by U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs, that face fierce opposition from many Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky had urged the farm bill conference committee to work quickly, telling its members on Sept. 5: “We need to get a farm bill signed into law before the end of September.”

But members of the House of Representatives left town with the matter still unresolved, and they’re not scheduled to return until after the Nov. 6 elections.

Westerman, a Republican who serves on the conference committee, is blaming Senate Democrats for the delay, saying they’re in no hurry to resolve the issue.

“We need to get this farm bill done as soon as possible. An extension is not what we need,” he said during a conference call Thursday.

The fall break isn’t an impediment to completing the work, he said.

“We can go back [to Washington] at any time and vote on the farm bill if we can get an agreement worked out,” he said.

A spokesman for Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats denied responsibility for the delays.

“From the start, the Senate has recognized the importance of passing a Farm Bill on time, which is why the Senate bill moved quickly and passed on a historic bipartisan vote. The Senate leaders are working tirelessly on a bipartisan basis to reach a final agreement,” press secretary Jess McCarron said in a written statement Friday. “If House Republicans are serious about getting this done, they should put politics aside and focus on working towards a compromise.”

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said Friday that the House’s forest management provisions are “an obstacle to productive negotiations.”

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a conference committee member, said he’s encouraged that the leaders of the House and Senate

agriculture committees met on Thursday to discuss the issue.

“I think there’s a very sincere effort, certainly on the part of our chairman and ranking member in the House, to get it done,” the Republican from Jonesboro said.

Passage of a new farm bill is crucial, he said.

“Agriculture and our ability to feed and clothe ourselves is a national security imperative,” he said. “I think that we have really done our rural constituents, our ag producers, a disservice by not highlighting how important food security is with regards to national security.”

The third Arkansan on the conference committee, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, wants to see the stalemate end, according to spokesman Patrick Creamer.

The Republican from Rogers “remains optimistic that the ongoing discussions will lead to

a new Farm Bill that will help bring certainty and predictability for our farmers and ranchers,” Creamer said.

Arkansas farmers are counting on lawmakers to fix the problem, according to Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach.

“Our farmers and ranchers out there … don’t have a safety net. They’re out there laying everything they own on the line to produce the food, fiber and shelter that every one of us need every single day,” Veach said. “We’ve got to have a safety net that will keep our farmers and ranchers in business.”

If a solution isn’t found, “the economy of Arkansas and the economy of the other states in our nation will suffer greatly. And that means jobs for everybody out there.”