Democratic House spurs farm bill hope
Analysts blame GOP support of food-stamp work rules for delaying legislation
MINNEAPOLIS — Prospects have improved for Congress to pass a bipartisan farm bill before the end of the year after Democrats secured the House majority during the midterm elections, key lawmakers and other experts said.
Work requirements for food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, had been the biggest stumbling block holding up an agreement. The version that narrowly passed the House with no Democratic votes includes the tougher rules. The bipartisan version that won easy Senate approval does not, and few Senate Republicans want them.
Observers say it’s likely that House Republicans will now be ready to pass a compromise in the upcoming lame duck session rather than starting over in a Democratic-controlled House and risking a result they would like even less.
“There isn’t any reason why this thing can’t get done,” said Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee and the likely chairman next year. “The only thing I care about between now and the end of the year is getting this farm bill done.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a news conference Friday in Frankfort, Ky., that passing a farm bill is one of his top priorities for the lame duck session, too. McConnell, who like Peterson is on the conference committee that’s trying to work out a final deal, said compromise on work requirements is needed.
“That’s the part that is a little tricky, but we’ll get there,” McConnell said.
“I think we need to get it done before the end of the year,” Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said Friday. “A lot of work has already been put into that legislation.”
Veach, whose organization has 190,000 member families, said farmers and their hometown businesses that rely on agriculture need a solution sooner rather than later.
“Without a farm bill, we won’t have a safety net for all the farmers and ranchers,” he said, citing drops in net farm income for the last five years. Farmers also are facing lower prices for their commodities this year, along with crop losses caused by heavy rains this fall during harvest, he said.
Farm bills traditionally set federal agricultural and food policy for five years. While they include safety net programs for farmers, nutrition programs including food stamps are where the most is spent. The current law expires at the end of the year. While Peterson might have even more influence on shaping the legislation as chairman, he told The Associated Press that he doesn’t want to wait, given how hard farmers have been hit by low prices and trade disputes.
“The farmers need certainty,” he said. “They’re facing some of the toughest times we’ve had for a long time. The last thing they need is not knowing what the farm bill is going to be.”