House Ditches Huge Farm Aid Bill, Leaves for Recess

House passes stopgap measure, but Senate wouldn't take it up
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 3, 2012 6:26 AM CDT
House Ditches Huge Farm Aid Bill, Leaves for Recess
Drought-damaged corn is seen in a field in Westfield, Indiana.   (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

It's August and many Americans are taking well-earned summer vacations. And then there's Congress. House lawmakers took off for their August recess yesterday after refusing to consider a five-year measure to aid America's stricken farmers, reports the New York Times. Instead, they passed a stopgap $383 million disaster aid bill to help some livestock producers hit hard by this summer's devastating drought, along with a modest group of farmers. A bipartisan five-year farm measure has already made it through the Senate, which refused to take up the House's measure.

The House disaster package, which provides assistance to cattle and sheep farmers but not to pork or poultry operations, "is a sad substitute for what is really needed—a long term farm policy," complained the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. The committee's Republican chairman urged his colleagues to "go home and discuss the drought in that 65% of United States that is suffering" before coming back with the momentum to pass a farm bill, Politico reports. (More Congress stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X