Vilsack Weighs In on Proposed Splitting of House Farm Bill

Earlier this week several media outlets have reported that the House is considering splitting the Farm Bill up to allow separate votes on the nutrition title. That nutrition portion of the bill would be considered later. The split version farm bill would be the bill as it finished on the floor before the holiday break, with the addition of a repeal of the 1949 law that requires the passage or extension of a farm bill.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack shares

Vilsack: “I don’t think there is any assurance that anything that the House is currently working on is actually going to get done. Having said that I’ve said on several occasions and will continue to say is that splitting the bill I think in the long term is and will be detrimental to the farm interest. I think it will provide ample opportunity for those who want to continue to limit the support for agricultural programs, the capacity and ability to do so. And I don’t think it will have quite the impact that some people feel it may have on nutrition assistance programs. I don’t think at the end of the day it is a good way to proceed.”

Vilsack urges House members to do their job and focus on a comprehensive bill, then getting the needed votes to get it passed and on to conference to work out the differences.

Vilsack: “It’s going to require leadership. The reality is we can’t continue the sustained failure of leadership. People in the countryside need certainty. There are programs that need to get authorized and funded. I think that time for getting this done is long over due.”