Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the Senate Ag Committee is on track to release a bipartisan farm bill after the Easter recess.
Politico says Grassley is warning lawmakers that a Republican-only bill coming out of the House would have no chance of getting through the upper chamber.
Bipartisan farm bill talks are stalled in the House amid complaints from Democrats on the Agriculture Committee who say they’ve been largely cut out of the negotiating process and haven’t been given an opportunity to review the bill’s text. They’re particularly interested in potential changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
House Ag Chair Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican, hasn’t indicated whether he’ll yield to pressure from Democrats to share the bill’s text or if he’ll go ahead with a partisan measure.
Grassley recently met with Senate Ag Chairman Pat Roberts to talk about things the Iowa Senator would like to see included in the Senate’s version of the farm bill. Grassley says the staff is starting to draft a farm bill and Roberts said he’d like to start the process after the Easter recess.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.