Senate Moves Farm Bill Out of Committee; No FIFRA Provisions Included

On Wednesday, June 13 the Senate Agriculture Committee passed their version of the Farm Bill out of Committee.  The Senate’s version does not include any of NPMA’s regulatory reform objectives.  Last Friday we were made aware that none of the FIFRA related regulatory reform provisions were included in the base text due to strong opposition from Ranking Member Stabenow.

After seeing the base text of the Senate’s Farm Bill without our regulatory reform language included we quickly identified Senator Perdue as our Champion to offer an amendment with our preemption language.  We worked with Senator Perdue’s staff and Chairman Roberts staff over the weekend to have the amendment offered by Monday, June 11.  We then continued outreach to Democrats on the Committee to gain support but unfortunately lost traction. 

On Tuesday, June 12 and into Wednesday, June 13, Senate staff and members worked through the night to consider all the amendments that had been offered (100+).  Around 3:30 a.m. an agreement was reached on a “managers amendment” which included all those amendments that were deemed “not controversial” and would be passed as a package.  The preemption amendment was not included.  Neither was the NPDES fix amendment (Offered by Senator Fischer), which we also assisted with putting forward. 

On Wednesday, June 13, the Committee marked up and passed the Farm Bill out of Committee, and we anticipate a full Senate vote before the August recess, possibly as early as the last week in June.  During the mark-up, Senator Perdue publicly withdrew our preemption amendment.

Next Steps - We now shift primary focus back to the House to urge passage of the Farm Bill with our language.  Last Thursday we met with House Ag. Majority staff and were told that the Bill with our language will be brought back for a vote as soon as the immigration votes occur.  Last week Speaker Ryan scheduled votes on immigration for this week, paving the way to bring the House Farm Bill back up as early as late this week, but likely the following week.  We will be targeting all Republicans offices that voted “no” or were “absent” this week and next.  It is our belief that the Farm Bill will pass the House, with our language. 

The Senate Farm Bill still needs to go before the full Senate, and we are speaking with Senator Perdue and Roberts office about the possibility of offering via an amendment on the House Floor.  This may not be the best play, but we’re exploring this option and making a whip count.

While less than ideal, there is still plenty to be done, and we will continue the fight until the very end!

Special Thanks - To Senator Perdue and his staff for being a champion for our industry.  We sent the following note to Senator Perdue on behalf of NPMA.  We look forward to continuing a strong relationship with Senator Perdue in the future.