Articles by Derrick Cain

The Senate is expected this week to begin debate on a two-year budget bill

Top farm bill conferees are expected to meet again next week to work on nailing down a framework for legislation that Congress could take up early next year, lawmakers said today.

Enhanced labor protections in the law and regulations as well as stronger enforcement are needed to improve working conditions for the nation’s farmworkers, according to a report released Thursday by Farmworker Justice.

Top farm bill conferees are expected to meet Friday, after the House quickly approved legislation (H.R. 3695) Thursday, by voice vote, to extend the current farm bill through Jan. 31. The bill is considered dead in the water in the Senate.

The House approved tonight a two-year budget bill (H.J. Res. 59), on a 332-94 vote, that seeks to avoid another government shutdown in January while providing some sequestration relief to federal agencies.

The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports today urged farm bill conferees and congressional leaders to maintain current authorization levels for funding of USDA market development programs in a long-term bill or in a short-term extension of agricultural policy.

Top farm bill conferees announced today that they are unable to complete a long-term bill by the end of the year because of a lack of agreement on a “magnitude” of issues and due to a lack of Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores.

Negotiations between farm bill conferees will intensify this week as the congressional clock ticks down

Negotiations over a long-term farm bill are rolling into next week as top congressional conferees continued to work today to piece together a deal – while talk of another extension increased among lawmakers.

The top four farm bill conferees are likely to meet again Thursday after holding a short meeting today where they declared ?great progress? on reaching a final deal, but offered scant details.