Washington- Congress has failed for a second year to pass a new Farm Bill.
Radio Iowa reports that the one-year extension of the legislation expired on Monday, and the temporary spending package approved by Congress last week to keep the government open through December 20th, did not include any continuation of Farm Bill policies.
Iowa Republican Congressman Zach Nunn had hoped the US House would vote on a version of the Farm Bill that won bipartisan approval in the House Ag Committee four months ago.
“I wrote a specific letter to the speaker of the House, asking that it come to a vote before we leave town,” Nunn says.
Congress is on recess until November 12th. Nunn says even if the House had taken action, the Senate Ag Committee hasn’t developed it’s version of the five-year Farm Bill.
“We all know it takes two parties to tango on this and the reality is the Senate hasn’t even so much as jotted down on a napkin what their plan is going to be on the Farm Bill,” Nunn said.
Nunn acknowledges Congress won’t revisit Farm Bill negotiations until after the election.
“I think we’ve got an opportunity in the ‘lame duck’ session for Debbie Stabenow who’s the senior member on the Democratic side in the Senate to say what does she want her legacy to be: a legacy of passing a Farm Bill that helps not just Iowa farmers, but helps feed the entire country and fuel the world or do we want to have gridlock for no real reason,” Nunn says.
Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says it’s been nearly 130 days since the House Ag Committee passed it’s version of the farm bill.
Feenstra says given low commodity prices and declining farm income, congress needs to approve a new Farm Bill to deliver certainty and relief for Iowa agriculture.
