Senate Farm Bill Moves to Final Vote

U.S. Senate has voted to wrap up debate on the farm bill - giving a boost to prospects for getting a bill done this year. The Senate voted 75 to 22 to curtail farm bill debate in a parliamentary move. The final vote is planned for 5:30 p.m. Eastern today.
Majority Leader Harry Reid - pressed to move onto immigration reform - moved to invoke so-called cloture after the Senate hit a roadblock on limiting farm bill amendments. Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow said last Thursday.

Stabenow: “More than 100 groups, representing agriculture, conservation, nutrition and every part of the economy represented by this bill have called on the Senate this morning to vote yes on cloture.”

Stabenow called a yes vote on cloture a yes vote for 16-million jobs in agriculture and the food industry - a yes vote for subsidy reforms and a yes vote for consolidating conservation and other programs.

Stabenow: “We’ve eliminated over a 100 authorizations and programs that were duplicative, didn’t work any more, were not the right thing to do from a taxpayer standpoint. We’ve consolidated in a way that has not been done, I would argue, for decades. And we’ve reduced the deficit -- more than the last bill $24 billion.”

The House’s Ag Chair Frank Lucas said he has been told that the House’s version of the Farm Bill will come to the floor in the near future.