WASHINGTON, June 24, 2013 – Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will not pass another farm bill extension and called on House leaders to pass the version of the farm bill that passed the Senate by a 66-27 margin on June 10.
“I want everyone within the sound of my voice, as well as my colleagues on the other side of the Capitol to know that the Senate will not pass another temporary farm bill extension. It’s time for real reform that protects both rural farm communities and urban families who need help feeding their children,” exclaimed Reid on the Senate floor at noon today. The current one-year extension expires Sept. 30, 2013.
Reid called on House Speaker John Boehner to “dispense with the drama and the delay” and swiftly consider the Senate farm bill, noting that the Senate has now twice passed a farm bill with bipartisan support while the House has been unable to do so. He also claimed that the Senate version would pass the House with bipartisan support.
“I was sorry to hear the House Republican leadership blame the bill’s defeat on Democrats, but I wasn’t surprised,” Reid added. “They had to blame someone. They couldn’t blame themselves, even though they should.”
Reid noted that the GOP Congress defeated what he called the “Speaker’s farm bill.”
“Even though the Speaker took the unusual step of announcing his support for the measure ahead of the vote, this bill went down in flames.”
Reid also noted that last week’s defeat of a farm bill was the first time the House of Representatives had defeated a farm bill since the program was created in the 1930’s.
“Passing the Senate farm bill would create jobs or reduce the deficit by some $25 billion and it would make important reforms for both farm and food stamp programs without balancing the budget on the backs of hungry Americans,” noted the Nevada Democrat.
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