House Fails to Approve 2013 Farm Bill
Industry organizations vent their frustration.
The U.S. House of Representatives, in a 195-234 vote June 20, failed to pass H.R. 1947: The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, known as the Farm Bill. Many individuals and ag groups made their disapproval known shortly after the vote was made.
“On this day, on this vote, the House worked its will,” said Frank Lucas, R-Okla., U.S. House Agriculture Committee chairman. “I’m obviously disappointed, but the reforms in H.R. 1947 — $40 billion in deficit reduction, elimination of direct payments and the first reforms to SNAP since 1996 — are so important that we must continue to pursue them. We are assessing all of our options, but I have no doubt that we will finish our work in the near future and provide the certainty that our farmers, ranchers and rural constituents need.”
U.S. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said, “The Farm Bill failed to pass the House today because the House Republicans could not control the extreme right wing of their party. From Day 1 I cautioned my colleagues that to pass a farm bill we would have to work together. Instead, the House adopted a partisan amendment process, playing political games with extreme policies that have no chance of becoming law.”
National Grange President Ed Luttrell noted, “The House did the American people a true injustice today. Last year’s extension of the Farm Bill was extremely disappointing to the agricultural community, and the House’s failure to pass the bill today just deepens this frustration.
“The Farm Bill isn’t just about farming and agriculture,” he continued. “It’s about jobs, energy and our nation’s overall recovery in this still struggling economy. One in 12 American jobs depends upon agriculture, and without the strength and stability provided by the Farm Bill, our nation’s farmers and ranchers will be unable to make rational, informed decisions about the future.”
National Grange Legislative Director Grace Boatright said the failure comes mainly from proposed cuts to the 80% of Farm Bill spending marked for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
“Cuts to the SNAP program were undoubtedly the cause of today’s Farm Bill rejection in the House, which is especially frustrating because I believe that the Senate and House bills had a lot of common ground on which to build. It’s going to be a long and dreary road from here as the Washington ag community regroups and reevaluates its work on this issue,” Boatright said.
Scott George, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president, said, “We were very close in this legislation to providing disaster programs for our producers, which would have extended disaster assistance for five years and would have covered losses in 2012 and 2013. These disaster programs are essential to equipping producers with the necessary tools to manage the risks associated with catastrophic weather events. After the historic drought which has plagued the countryside for the last few years, livestock producers needed these programs now more than ever.”
“The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is highly disappointed the House did not complete work on the 2013 Farm Bill, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. It was a balanced bill that would have provided much needed risk-management tools and a viable economic safety net for America’s farmers and ranchers,” said the AFBF in an official statement. “A completed farm bill is much needed to provide farmers and ranchers certainty for the coming years and to allow the Agriculture Department to plan for an orderly implementation of the bill’s provisions.”
Editor's Note: This article includes information from releases by the House Committee on Agriculture,
the American Farm Bureau Federation, NCBA and the Grange.