Dear Colleagues -- You have likely been following the news that the farm bill flamed out, resulting in a somewhat chaotic situation on the Hill. We attach a note from Trish Knight and Peter Reinecke with a quick update. We will keep you informed regarding the fortunes of the farm bill. Ultimate passage is expected with many twists and turns along the way.
Please remember that hemp-related bills are also tied into the farm bill with about one million other interest groups seeking federal support via this bill. Cordially, LDI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Patricia Knight <PKnight@knight-cap.us> Date: Fri, May 18, 2018 at 12:57 PM Subject: members memo update on farm bill To: "Loren Israelsen (loren@unpa.com)" <loren@unpa.com>, Heidi Calder <heidi@unpa.com> Cc: Peter Reinecke <peter@rssinc.us> In a dramatic reversal of fortune for House Speaker Paul Ryan, this morning the House failed (198-213) to pass the farm bill (H.R. 2) which contains the industry- supported legislation allowing multivitamin/mineral purchases under the SNAP (food stamps) program. The 30 Republicans who voted against it largely were mounting a protest against the leadership’s refusal to bring up unrelated immigration legislation. We still think the prospects are good for ultimate passage of the Farm Bill and its inclusion of some version of the proposal to allow MVM products to be purchased with SNAP dollars. But the House will likely have to sort out its intra-party food fight on immigration policy first. That work is underway with news of this bruising failure aiding the reconciliation effort. It is deemed unlikely Congress will adjourn without passing a farm bill, especially during an election year. We will keep you posted. --Trisha and Peter Comments are closed.
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