Agricultural News
House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas Keeps Focus on Getting Farm Bill Done in 2013
Thu, 08 Aug 2013 06:12:17 CDT
House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas remains optimistic that a comprehensive five year farm bill will be completed this year- and he believes that will include a Nutrition Title. Lucas, at his Town Hall meeting in Woodward on Wednesday, told Senior Director for Corporate Communications Sam Knipp of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau "it's tough to pass big policy changes in such a divided, complicated Congress these days."
Among the policy changes that have to be reconciled between the House and the Senate are the huge differences between the House and Senate on authorization cuts in the Nutrition Title as well as significant differences in how the two bodies approach a federal farm safety net. Lucas repeated his now familiar mantra that a federal farm bill has to offer a safety net to all farmers across the country and not giving special considerations to midwest farmers growing two of the major program crops.
While the House bill passed contains only eleven titles and no Nutrition language- Lucas said a stand alone Nutrition title might be adopted in the House in September- and that no matter what the House does- he simply does not see the Senate accepting a Conference Report that does not contain a Nutrition Title.
When asked about the chances of getting a bill done in September, Lucas expressed hope but then mentioned the magnitude of the pieces that must be dealt with to finish- adding simply that he would like to get a bill done "as soon as I can."
You can hear Chairman Lucas with Farm Bureau's Sam Knipp by clicking on the Listen Bar below.
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