Ag Policy Blog

Farm Bill Conferees to Meet Right After Labor Day

Jerry Hagstrom
By  Jerry Hagstrom , DTN Political Correspondent

Conferees on the farm bill that has been passed by the House and Senate will hold a public meeting on September 5, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterso, D-Minn., announced Wednesday.

“We are pleased to announce a meeting of the full Farm Bill Conference Committee,” the Senate and House Agriculture Committee leaders said in a news release. “We are committed to working together on a Farm Bill that delivers certainty and predictability to our farmers and families as quickly as possible.”

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The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. in Room 325 of the Russell Senate Office Building, which is better known as the Kennedy Caucus Room, named for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The room is described on the U.S. Senate website as “one of the grandest and most historic rooms in the nation’s capital. As its name implies, the Caucus Room was originally intended for party caucuses or meetings where members of the same party decided upon their candidates, policies, and legislative matters.”

The Farm Bill Conference Committee is composed of 56 members — nine senators and 47 representatives.

A knowledgeable House aide said the meeting is expected to be dominated by speeches and may not include much negotiation on the top issues in the farm bill, including the differences between the House and the Senate over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and limits on subsidy payments to farmers.

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@njdc.com

Follow him on Twitter @hagstromreport

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