The Farm Bill is a top priority in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. Ag Committee Chairman Michael Conaway worked all weekend trying to round up support from other Republicans.
The House Rules Committee will meet Tuesday afternoon to determine debate rules for the Farm Bill. The Committee will decide Wednesday which amendments will be debated on the House floor, most likely Thursday.
There are 103 proposed amendments, and only two Democrats are offering amendments, as Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urges her party to oppose the entire bill for its proposed changes to the SNAP nutrition assistance program.
One of the Democratic amendments from Ron Kind of Wisconsin would make cotton ineligible for the ARC and PLC programs and return cotton to the Stacked Income Protection Program. He also wants to reinstate the Conservation Stewardship Program. Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon has proposed a $125,000 gross income limit per year for crop insurance premium subsidies.
Some proposed amendments are getting opposition from farm groups and businesses. More than 300 including American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, and many ag lenders sent Congress a letter last week urging them not to gut crop insurance, undermine sugar policy and impose unworkable program payment limits.
Other proposed amendments would limit SNAP purchases to healthy food allowed under the Women, Infants and Children program, cap the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) at 24 million acres a year, delist the grey wolf from the endangered species list, and remove industrial hemp from the controlled substances act.
Source: Brownfield Ag News