by Sally Jo Sorensen
It's been a long time coming, but House Leadership has finally picked members of the Farm Bill Conference Committee. Seventh District congressman Collin Peterson, the ranking Democrat of the ag committee, will be joined by fellow Minnesota representative Tim Walz, from the Fighting First.
The appointees come on the heels of an agreement late yesterday, Politico's David Rogers reported in House-Senate farm bill talks OK'd:
The House agreed Friday to begin formal talks with the Senate on a long-delayed farm bill — giving back the reins to Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas to try to salvage some compromise after the often destructive, partisan floor fights of the past summer.
The motion was quickly approved on a simple voice vote after a last political skirmish decided by a 223-189 margin on the rule. Also by a voice vote, lawmakers Friday evening approved a resolution urging House negotiators to support a Senate-passed provision that would trim the level of crop insurance subsidies for wealthy farmers with an adjusted gross income of $750,000 or more. . . .
One appointment might raise tensions in the negotiations:
. . . Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) — a former committee member and close ally of Majority Leader Eric Cantor — will be a leadership appointee because of his role in the food stamp debate.
Democrats are expected to have their own leadership appointment plus nine committee members, led by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who chaired the panel when the last farm bill was enacted in 2008.
The addition of Southerland is not a great surprise. In 2008, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) used her position to also add at least one leadership conferee because of nutrition issues she cared about. And from the lists circulated this week, Boehner appears to have helped Lucas consolidate his position in conference by not naming two committee Republicans who have been thorns in the chairman’s side: Reps. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Robert Gibbs of Ohio.
Nonetheless, Southerland’s presence is a reminder of Cantor’s own investment in the nutrition title, which the Virginia Republican personally helped to reshape over the summer. And the sheer number of conferees could become a burden for Lucas and Peterson.
Hoosier Ag Today had more on Peterson's objection:
House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., opposed the rule because he objected to the Republican plan to add Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., who is not a member of the House Agriculture Committee and who offended many Democrats by offering the work requirement amendment to the food stamp program on the House floor. Adding a member who does not sit on Agriculture will make it harder to complete the conference, Peterson said. He added that he is unhappy about resolutions urging conferees to make changes to the sugar and crop insurance programs.
Tim Walz has been appointed to the conference committee, according to a press release from his office:
Today, Representative Tim Walz (D-Minn.), was named to the bipartisan, bicameral Farm Bill Conference Committee to work out a deal on a long-term Farm Bill that will give rural America certainty. Walz, Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry, has been a strong advocate for agriculture and has consistently pushed leadership to move the Farm Bill to conference.
“Those that feed, clothe, and fuel the world need and deserve the certainty that a long-term Farm Bill brings,” Walz said. “While this process has taken far too long, I’m pleased the House has taken this step forward. Southern Minnesota is home to a proud agriculture community and I am honored and humbled to advocate on their behalf. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the House and Senate to produce a bipartisan, long-term Farm Bill that will give certainty to producers and consumers.”
Now reporting for the Mankato Free Press, Josh Moniz more in Walz: No clear end for shutdown, Farm Bill in sight.
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