Constituents Can Put Pressure on to Pass Farm Bill

House Speaker John Boehner said last week that the House is just too divided on the farm bill to approve the five-year farm bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee. He says the Democrats are concerned with food stamp reductions while Republicans don’t feel the cuts go far enough. As a result – Boehner hasn’t seen the 218 votes to pass a farm bill. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy has said it’s simply difficult to move any large bills in this Congress. But the Republican leadership in the House is hopeful constituents will put the pressure on lawmakers – demanding they do their job – and the goal is still to get a farm bill approved before the current measure expires on September 30th. McCarthy believes that will happen – stating the leadership will find a way to move the farm bill into conference when legislators return from the August recess.