Senate Farm Bill Schedule Remains Uncertain
News Date July 17, 2007
The Senate Agriculture Committees schedule for marking up the 2007 farm bill remains uncertain. For the past weeks, Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has generally indicated that he wanted to complete markup on a bill this month with full Senate debate before the upcoming August recess.
On July 16, Congress Daily reported in a news article that Senate leaders have told Harkin that the farm bill will not be on the floor before the August recess. The news has raised speculation about whether the Senate panel will hold a markup this month if the bill will not be on the floor until the fall.
Harkin has not issued any statement about the schedule for marking-up the 2007 farm bill and the committee has not yet issued a legislative proposal. However, committee staff has recently been circulating discussion drafts for several titles. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)