A bloody, knockdown fight lies ahead in the House for the farm bill. Farm bill advances in Senate

A strong Farm Bill showing in the Senate Thursday clears the way for a final vote on passage Monday evening and puts added pressure on the House to move ahead this month with its own five-year plan to revamp major commodity programs.

The 75-22 roll call easily surpassed the 60-vote threshold needed to invoke cloture. And after all the frustration of the past year, the lopsided margin reflects a renewed determination to get the legislation into a House-Senate conference this summer and try to strike some final compromise.


A bloody, knockdown fight lies ahead in the House, scheduled to take up its bill the week of June 17th. But having blocked floor action last year, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will find it harder to justify more stalling after the bipartisan showing in the Senate Thursday.

“I think is important for the House to work its will on the farm bill,” Boehner told reporters Thursday. “I’m hopeful that we can pass a Farm Bill and get to conference with the Senate and resolve this issue for America’s farmers and ranchers.”

Senate Democrats were solid in support of cloture Thursday but also picked up 22 Republicans, including many from the conservative corners of the South and West. If this pattern repeats itself Monday on final passage, it could have an impact in the House debate.

For example, the Heritage Foundation, led by former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), has already begun to weigh in heavily in the House against the bill. So it was striking that South Carolina’s two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, supported the cloture motion Thursday, separating themselves from their old colleague.

For the remaining debate time, the Senate Agriculture Committee leadership will be in the driver’s seat in defining what amendments will still be allowed. And Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and her ranking Republican, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, had been working to try to come up with a workable list.

As many as 240 have been filed, awaiting action. But given the incessant wrangling, few or none at all will make it to the floor at this stage. And eager to move onto immigration reform, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) won agreement that the vote on final passage will take place at 5:30 p.m. Monday after just a token thirty minutes of floor debate.

Among those shut out is Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Agriculture Committee and chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.

Thune has proposed a series of amendments challenging portions of the commodity title, but absent some breakthrough, it is unlikely any will be considered at this stage. “I can’t tell you how disappointing that is,” Thune said, “For those of us who come from farm country and want to try and shape the best farm bill we possibly can.”