The 216 to 208 vote was a victory for a Republican caucus that has struggled to pass the most basic of legislation, but it also set up weeks of acrimony and uncertainty as House and Senate leaders must reconcile two vastly different visions for providing subsidies to farmers and feeding the hungry. The farm bill, which passed after hours of delay from irate Democrats, was the second act in a particularly hostile day on Capitol Hill, even by modern standards.
House leaders and their aides conceded Thursday that they were so consumed by simply passing the pared-down bill that they haven’t figured out what to do next. Asked before the passage of the House bill how he would approach negotiations with the Senate, Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said: “If ands and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be Christmas. My goal right now is to get the farm bill passed. We’ll get to those issues later.”
The 608-page measure that passed the House includes a package of subsidies for farmers worth about $195 billion over the next 10 years that would make significant changes to agricultural policy and conservation programs, including an end to direct subsidies to farmers. It is nearly identical to that aspect of the Senate bill.
However, for the first time since 1973, the House measure says nothing about funding for food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which was set at about $740 billion.
Farm subsidies and food stamps have long been paired, in part for political reasons. Rural lawmakers backing payments to farmers and urban ones supporting money for food and nutrition programs formed a powerful coalition that served both interests.
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reporter
Park Sae-jin
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