U.S. House to Tackle Farm Bill Again in July

U.S. House to Tackle Farm Bill Again in July

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

House Republicans plan to give the farm bill another look for the second time this year. But Republican leaders are still mulling over what the legislation should look like and are assessing the votes they need to pass it.

The House needs to secure 218 votes to pass a new five-year farm bill. The House farm bill was defeated 195-234 vote, over the controversial food stamp [SNAP] program. Republicans said cuts to the food program weren’t enough, while Democrats said they couldn’t support more cuts on a program used by 48 million Americans.

There has been talk of splitting the farm bill into two – food stamps and farm subsidies, but several representatives including Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) don’t believe there is enough support for splitting the bill. The biggest obstacle in the farm bill is food stamps, which represents 80% of the legislation. The 2008 farm bill extension expires Sept. 30.