The Great Farm Bill Merger

17108128-g.jpg

July 2, 2018

NASHVILLE, Tenn (RFD-TV) With the successful passage of the House and Senate versions of the 2018 Farm Bill, lawmakers now look ahead to what might be in store as the two drafts become one.

The game plan for Ag Committee Senators going into Farm Bill negotiations with the House: no major changes. House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway commended Senate Ag Leadership on a hard fought victory. Now lawmakers begin building the bi-cameral body that will blend the two versions together.

Some worry whether a combined effort will be able to pass both chambers a second time, or that the conference committee will become a place for lawmakers to earn political points before November. Of the 11 Senators who voted against the Senate’s final Farm Bill, all were Republican, and many had filed amendments that failed to make it into the legislation, including Senators Bob Corker and Pat Toomey.