Momentum seems to be building for a vote in the House on a farm only farm bill – but only if the votes are there. During a town hall meeting in Oklahoma over the July 4th recess, House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas indicated that he expected leadership to split the bill but he would rather not see that happen. …
NCGA Testimony on Trade Negotiations
During a House Committee on Small Business hearing this week in Washington, National Corn Growers Association President Pam Johnson provided policy recommendations for the U.S. Trade Representative on growing export opportunities, particularly the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Listen to or download Pam’s testimony and answers to questions from lawmakers:
Chambliss on Immigration Bill Ag Amendments
As the Senate prepares to vote on comprehensive immigration reform today, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) took to the floor Wednesday evening to detail some of his concerns about the farm worker provisions in the bill and amendments that he wanted to see added. Chambliss spent time detailing the amendments he would like to offer that would fix some of the …
House Subcommittee RFS Hearing
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing Wednesday on the
New Effort to Repeal Death Tax
On June 19, Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) re-introduced legislation to permanently repeal the federal estate tax, better known as the death tax. The video of last week’s press conference is below and here is a partial audio file with the opening statements of the members of Congress – Thune, Brady, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Rep. …
Senate Majority Leader on Farm Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says no to another farm bill extension. In remarks on the Senate floor Monday (6/24/13) prior to starting business on the immigration reform bill, Senator Reid began by noting that last week’s defeat of the farm bill on the House floor was “the first time the House of Representatives defeated a farm bill since …
Farm Bill Fallout Audio
The shock over the defeat of the farm bill in the U.S. House of Representatives had barely sunk in Thursday when the blame game began. Here is some audio from the House floor and other sources on who is to blame and what happens now. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Minority Whip Steney Hoyer (D-VA) blame each others’ parties: …
House Farm Bill Defeated
Despite an impassioned plea by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas to “move this bill forward” the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (FARRM) failed on a vote of 194 to 234, with 60 Republicans joining the majority of Democrats to defeat the House version of the farm bill.
Speaker Boehner Supports Farm Bill
Speaker of the House John Boehner says he would vote for the House Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) of 2013. “I’ve got concerns about the farm bill, as I told our members,” Boehner said during the Republican Leadership press conference Wednesday. “But doing nothing means that we get no changes in the farm program, no changes in …
Farmer Cooperatives Washington Conference
The National Council of Farmers Cooperatives is holding its annual Washington Conference this week. GROWMARK Executive Director of Corporate and Government Relations Chuck Spencer talks about the issues they are discussing with lawmakers.
Senate Farm Bill Audio
Comments from Senators on the floor recorded from C-Span2 during final vote on Senate Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 passed June 10, 2013 by a vote of 66 to 27.
Interview with Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)
The Senate has passed a farm bill once again, as it did last year, and now once again the burden falls on the House to pass their version to get the legislation into conference. Representative Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, a member of the House agriculture committee, is hopeful. In this interview, Rep. Hartzler talks about Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk …
AGree Supports Senate Immigration Bill
Food and agricultural policy organization AGree is urging the Senate to pass the immigration reform bill approved by the Judiciary Committee in order to provide a stable workforce for American agriculture. On June 3, the co-chairs of the organization sent a letter in support of the bill to U.S. Senators. Former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is co-chairman of AGree and …
American Meat Institute Statement on COOL Decision
USDA has issued the final rule for mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), including an amendment to the regulations for muscle cut covered commodities derived from animals slaughtered in the United States. “It is incomprehensible that USDA would finalize a controversial rule that stands to harm American agriculture, when comments on the proposal made clear how deeply and negatively it …
Dairy Farmers to REAP Benefits of Waste-to-Energy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture extends the deadline on a program that could see more farmers, especially those in the dairy industry, turning livestock waste into energy. The deadline to submit for funds under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and Dairy Industry Memorandum of Understanding has been extended to to May 31, 2013. During a teleconference moderated by …