House Republican leadership is delaying a vote on the farm bill, after an uprising by several GOP lawmakers enraged about sticking points within it — jeopardizing yet another major piece of legislation House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was hoping to move into the outbox this week.
According to Politico, “Leadership will send the agriculture policy package back to the House Rules Committee and continue negotiations. They will proceed this week with consideration of a key spy powers reauthorization and a budget plan for funding immigration enforcement agencies.”
Congress has not passed an updated farm bill, which authorizes much of the nation’s agriculture and food spending, since 2018.
“Lawmakers hope to bring the farm bill back to the floor in May after the chamber is set to take a weeklong recess,” said the report. “Republican leaders faced fierce backlash from some GOP members who took issue with parts of the farm bill or were asking to add their amendments and priorities to the package. Other hard-liners fought against a plan to tack onto the farm bill a proposal to allow year-round sales of E15 fuel.”
Yet another of the issues plaguing the farm bill is the inclusion of the Save Our Bacon Act, a controversial provision requested by pork producers, that would overturn all state laws prohibiting the use of “gestation crates” for pigs, a practice animal welfare groups condemn as torture. Lawmakers in both parties, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), pushed an amendment to remove that language, but House leadership rejected it.
Making things even more complicated, far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) turned on her party Tuesday evening, joining forces with Democrats to sink a House rule to facilitate passage of the farm bill, after a number of her own amendments to the legislation were blocked.
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