The farm bill could be collateral damage after the House removed Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a historic vote that may have “blown up any meaningful legislation,” House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson warned.
The ouster of McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday raises a new obstacle for finishing a draft of a five-year food and agriculture bill. Sources said no House floor work and little if any committee work is expected until lawmakers elect a new speaker.
The House and Senate Agriculture committees had already missed a deadline to finish a farm bill by Sept. 30, when the 2018 bill expired. Leaders of both committees have set Dec. 31 as the new deadline for a final bill. They say an extension isn’t necessary if they can finish before Jan. 1, 2024, when 1940s farm policies of supply management and higher dairy and crop subsidies would start to take effect.
