Farm Bill – Passage - Vote Failed (195-234, 6 Not Voting) After working through more than 100 amendments, the House nevertheless rejected a five-year, $939 billion reauthorization of agricultural and nutrition programs. Sixty-two Republicans rebelled against their leaders and voted against the bill. All but two dozen Democrats voted no as well. Nutritional aid to the poor was the major point of conflict for the bill’s passage for both sides of the aisle. Although the bill cuts $33 billion from current law, the chamber’s most conservative Republican members argued spending reductions did not go far enough. Democrats, however, claimed that the bill’s $20.5 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) – made mainly by changing eligibility requirements – would disproportionately harm low-income families. Democrats also objected to a provision that mandated work requirements for SNAP recipients. Like the Senate bill, the measure would have ended direct payments to farmers, replacing them with revenue protections that would assist farmers when county revenue levels fall 15 percent to 25 percent below a five-year benchmark. It also consolidated several rural conservation programs. With the bill’s defeat, the House now will have to draft a new bill, adopt the one the Senate passed earlier this month, or pass another one-year extension like Congress had to do last year. Rep. Austin Scott voted YES. Well Austin tried...
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 20:22:04 +0000
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