Farm Bill Clears Senate Ag Committee

By a 12-11 vote Wednesday, Republicans were able to get their Farm Bill out of the Senate Ag Committee.  Now the question is when Majority Leader John Thune will put the Farm Bill on the Senate floor, given the body’s in for just two-more weeks after this, before the November elections.

“I would like to get this into conference with the House, as soon as possible. Floor time’s going to be challenging for the reasons that I mentioned, particularly if we get on the bills that we’re going to be voting on today,” Thune said Wednesday afternoon.

But the South Dakota Republican added farmers have waited long enough after three extensions of the 2018 Farm Bill.

“In farm country, they’re looking for certainty, some of these other issues," he said.  "I mean, these are issues that are bipartisan. And they’re important, they’re important national security items. Farm bills are, you know, food security’s national security.”

And with this farm bill, the GOP said, more energy security.  The Senate bill, unlike the House-passed farm bill, okays permanent year-round national sales of E15 gas.

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