Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., the chairman of the House Agriculture Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology and Foreign Subcommittee, told the United Fresh Produce Association today that he doubts Congress will pass an immigration reform bill, and he got booed by some members of the audience.

“I do not believe there will be a comprehensive immigration bill passed this year,” Scott said in a luncheon speech. He explained that he doesn’t think President Barack Obama will support an immigration reform bill that doesn’t include a path to citizenship, and that the House won’t pass a bill that includes it.

After some members of the audience booed, Scott said, “I heard the boos out there, I understand how important it is out there.I want a solution too.”

But Scott also said he does not believe most immigrants want to become American citizens.

“I hope we are able to get to a work permit system that is reasonable,” he said.

Most of the bills that are going through the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., will pass the House, Scott said, but he added he could not provide a timeline on action on immigration reform. Citing the case of a friend’s wife whose immigration documents were lost by the government for a time, Scott said the immigration system does need to be modernized.

Scott also said, “We are going to take legal services off the farm.”

He also noted he is getting more and more questions about genetic modification.

Referring to “expensive milk” and momentarily unable to come up with the word “organic,” Scott said that organic producers could make and sell their products, but that he would not stand for advocates shutting down GMO production. “You can’t feed America on organics,” he said.

Scott said he did not purposefully forget the word “organic” and apologized for it.

“There is a little bit of stress going around,” he noted in reference to the government shutdown.

Describing himself as a conservative who is “one generation from the trailer park,” Scott said he opposed the shutdown and blamed “the executive branch” for an unwillingness to negotiate. As a lawmaker, he said, he could “never remember a time when all the sides did not sit down and negotiate.”

The decision of conservative groups to score votes on the farm bill, he said, created “challenges” in passing the farm bill. Without mentioning Heritage Action for America or the Club for Growth, Scott said conservative groups had sent out information that was not accurate.

It was “one thing” to vote on issues, Scott said, another to vote on “how the conservative groups score you.”

The farm programs, Scott said, should help “good farmers to stay in business in bad years.” It isn't good policy, he added, “to keep bad farmers in business.”

The farm bill will contain some changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, he said, but “more importantly it creates a scenario under which farmers can have predictability for the next few years.”

Scott said he hopes the farm bill does not get caught up in battles over the debt limit and the budget that could lead to it being included in an omnibus bill.