Agricultural News
Thatcher Believes Farm Bill Deal is "Very Very Close"
Mon, 13 Jan 2014 05:23:35 CST
The Senior Director for Congressional Relations for the American Farm Bureau, Mary Kay Thatcher, is convinced that when it comes to finishing work on the 2014 farm bill- Farm Bill negotiators are "very very close" and that if we allow both sides on the dairy issue "to blow off a little steam" then "we can get some sort of compromise on this dairy thing and move forward."
In talking with Farm Director Ron Hays of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, Thatcher offers a bit of strategic advice to the Chairman of the Farm Bill Conference Committee Frank Lucas on when he calls the full Conference Committee together- "If I was the Chairman of the Conference Committee, I would probably start at 10 in the morning and keep them there til 4 the next morning if I had to to finish the darn thing because otherwise your're going to have pretty strong feelings among those 41 conferees and debate could go on forever and forever."
Thatcher also questions whether a full Conference is practical this week, with Congress set to have the Martin Luther King holiday break the following week, questioning whether or not you want the work of the Conference Committee out to be shot at by opponents for ten days or longer before the full House and Senate vote up or down on the final package.
Hays and Thatcher also talked about what might still blow up any deal- as well as how quickly this new farm bill could be implemented, when it finally becomes the 2014 farm law.
You can hear the full conversation Hays had with Thatcher by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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