Friday, September 21, 2012

Frustrated House members launch 11th-hour effort to pass farm bill

Frustrated with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his lieutenants, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have launched an eleventh-hour effort to pass a five-year farm bill.
In a Congress marked by partisanship, rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans from farm-heavy districts are working together to assess whether the farm measure has the votes to pass the House.
The initiative comes as House GOP leaders have shown little appetite in moving the farm legislation that cleared the Agriculture Committee, 35-11, in July. While top-ranking Republicans say the bill lacks the votes to pass, other members are dubious of that claim.
Freshman Rick Berg (R-N.D.) and Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) huddled on Wednesday night with a handful of other members to iron out a plan to force House leadership’s hand. Supporters of the bill know the chances of immediate success are slim, but they say they are trying everything they can to get the bill to the floor.
Some believe that Congress will soon pass a short-term extension of the farm law, which expires at the end of this month.
Berg, who is in a close Senate race, told The Hill that five Republicans and five Democrats agreed to launch an unofficial whip count to demonstrate that the House should vote on the bill.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/250891-exasperated-house-members-launch-11th-hour-effort-to-pass-farm-bill

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