House Could Act on Final Farm Bill Thursday

May 1, 2002

House Agriculture Committee officials said the House Rules Committee will be asked to issue a rule today on the final version of the farm bill. The rule will allow one hour of debate (no amendments) and an up or down vote on the conference committee's version, committee sources said. The vote is expected to come Thursday.

Committee staffers briefed farm lobbyists today on details of the bill, which will be officially known as the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. The House committee posted a six-page description of the bill on its website at http://agriculture.house.gov/fbconfsum.pdf

In the House of Representatives, conference reports must be formally filed. In the Senate, there is no such requirement; instead, the conference report simply has to be available for Senators to examine. Press reports indicated the Senate too might act Thursday on the new farm bill. A signature by President Bush is considered a foregone conclusion.