On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (the “Farm Bill”) by a vote of (198 - 213). Unfortunately, members in the Republican Party used their votes on the 2018 Farm Bill to leverage a vote on controversial immigration legislation, which is an entirely separate issue from the 2018 Farm Bill. In a procedural maneuver Speaker Ryan voted “no” on the 2018 Farm Bill and made a motion to reconsider, preserving the ability to bring the 2018 Farm Bill back before the House once support for the bill is solidified.
Today, Majority Whip Scalise indicated to reporters on Capitol Hill that the Farm Bill will be brought back before the House for a vote on June 22. Rather than speculate what deals need to be made, it is now more important than ever to continue to communicate with legislators in both the House and the Senate to pass a Farm Bill with our key regulatory reform initiatives before the September 30th deadline. NPMA will continue to work with Chairman Conaway and his staff to assist in passage of a bill in the House.
The Senate, Chairman Roberts has indicated that they plan to push forward and introduce the Senate’s 2018 Farm Bill in June. We are continuing to work with Senators on the Senate Agriculture Committee to include our regulatory reform language in the base text of the bill. Next week we will be making another push with targeted Senators and we will need your help again, so please be ready to continue the fight.
While this news was a disappointing end to a week of great work done by NPMA membership, it is not the time to raise the white flag and defeat. This remains a fluid process, but one that we will continue to advocate for our initiatives on your behalf, in hopes of passing landmark regulatory reform to protect the Pest Management industry this year. June 22nd, is less than a month away, and another opportunity to pass the Farm Bill.