Legislative Activity Farm Bill Conference Progress This past week, progress on the farm bill seemed to stall. Conferees are no longer close to finding a compromise on the issue of tying crop price guarantees to planted or base acres, and dairy provisions remain on the negotiation table. Earlier this month, the chairwoman had commented that … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Farm Bill Conference: Priority Issues At-A-Glance On October 30, the 41 House and Senate farm bill conferees convened at a public meeting to formally kick-off negotiations, although informal talks began a few months ago between agriculture leadership’s staff. Despite many conferees cautioning against pre-maturely drawing lines on issues, it was clear what issues … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY Farm Bill Conference This Wednesday, October 30, marks the official start to the farm bill conference, which will be a public meeting involving the 41 House and Senate conferees. For months, agriculture leadership and their staff have met behind the scenes on an informal basis to start conversations on reconciling the two farm … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY Farm Bill Conferees On Saturday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) named farm bill conferees. The Republicans appointed 17 members, including 12 Agriculture Committee members, two Foreign Affairs Committee members, two Ways and Means Committee members, and one member to represent the Republican leadership. Republican conferees … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Farm Bill As expected, early last week the Senate reappointed its farm bill conferees. The House, however, has yet to name its conferees. In late September, staff had indicated that the House would appoint conferees shortly after October 1. With the government shutdown, the appointment of conferees will likely be postponed until Congress … Continue Reading
