Lucas outlines farm bill conference plans
October 21, 2013 | 05:43 PM
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., outlined his plans for the farm bill conference in a radio interview last week with Ron Hays of the Oklahoma Farm Report.
The House and Senate take turns chairing the conference, and Lucas noted it is the House chairman’s turn.
In the interview broadcast Wednesday, Lucas said he would schedule an initial meeting of the conferees, now expected to be held the week of October 28, and then start behind-the scenes negotiations.
“At that point then you would expect us to recess, continue to work out the details amongst all the conferees,” Lucas said.
“There may be a series of public meetings then on issues where we cannot come to an agreement, maybe the final details on the nutrition title, perhaps the final details on what kind of a real commodity safety net we have,” he said. “But after a series of those, then ultimately a final conference committee meeting with a vote, hopefully, to accept the work product.”
“The conferees have to sign the conference committee report requiring a majority of the House and a majority of the Senate, and then the product would go to both the House and Senate for up or down votes,” Lucas said. “There would be an hour of debate, basically, in the House of Representatives when we get to that point. The language would not be subject to amendment. It’s just an up-or-down vote. And if both bodies concur and we can persuade the president to sign, this process will be over with.”
Lucas also noted that the biggest points of contention will be over the commodity title and the nutrition title, which would reauthorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps.
Of the decision of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to appoint Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., who favors big cuts to food stamps, Lucas said, “I think we can work with Mr. Southerland. I think the thoughts that he brings, while ultimately the final food stamp section title won’t look exactly like what the House or the Senate, either one, passed, I think he brings a necessary perspective to that.”
Lucas also noted that a speaker’s appointment on food stamps is not unprecedented because then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had appointed then House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., to the 2008 farm bill conference to make sure there would be a boost to food stamps.
Lucas also repeated his frequent statements that he still worries that the commodity title will be the hardest to negotiate, with payment limitations and conservation compliance for crop insurance being key issues.
He said it is his responsibility to defend the House-passed bills which reauthorize the farm program for five years and nutrition programs for three years, but recognizes that the Senate and the Obama administration will fight hard to keep the reauthorization of the farm program and nutrition programs on the same schedule.
He also acknowledged that the House proposal to replace the 1938 and 1949 farm laws with the commodity title of the 2013 farm bill as permanent law has not been popular with other lawmakers and farm groups, but added, “Recreating the wheel from scratch makes a lot of extra work for the people who walk the hallways up here as professional lobbyists. I understand it creates a lot more excitement and reasons for folks to participate. But remember, I am by training a Western Oklahoma wheat farmer. I don’t like excitement. I like certainty. I like to take as many uncontrollable variables out of the field as possible.”
Farm leaders have said that updating the permanent law would make it very difficult to pass a farm bill that would make changes to the commodity title if they are needed or to make changes to nutrition, conservation and rural development programs.
