Conaway Reacts To Farm Bill Failure

House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway expressed disappointment that lawmakers were unable to pass a 2018 Farm Bill before Sunday’s expiration of the existing Farm Bill.  Despite the failure, Conaway says he remains committed to getting the bill done.

“I would have preferred to get this thing done before the end of September, so a little bit of frustration coming in, because there’s no real reason why we shouldn’t have gotten it done.  With that being said we’ve got work to do, and getting it done in October is paramount importance for me.  While the House may not be in session I’m certainly willing to come back to Washington D.C.to get with my three colleagues to get this thing done in this 115^th Congress.  A work in progress, but just not as much progress as I would like.”

So, what’s holding up the 2018 Farm Bill?  Conaway said it’s the legislation itself.

“It would be the Farm Bill, that’s a bit flippant, but all literally all 12 titles have yet to be locked down.  Even the more straight forward titles we just can’t come to policies to agree on, that’s frustrating.  There are 12 titles and there are strong differences of opinions in each one of them.  No one title dominates the lack of progress. They’re all slowly dragging along."

Many expect the farm bill will not be completed until after the November elections.

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