Ranking Democrat on House Ag Committee says GOP plan cuts to '50-50' odds of Farm Bill in 2012

U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, told Mike Adams of AgriTalk that House Republicans' budget outline "is going to cause big problems" for passage of a new Farm Bill this year. They are asking for a reconciliation process to avoid defense cuts, and they want them before writing of the bill begins, he said. He said Republicans are apparently going to ask for $8.2 billion in cuts, and as a result he thinks there's only a "50-50" chance of getting the bill passed this year.

"This is a reconciliation that’s not going to be done in the Senate," Peterson told Adams. "This is being done strictly to get enough Republican votes to pass a budget, so it has no effect on anything at the end of the day, other than to cause a lot of trouble for the Ag Committee in the meantime.” He said there are rumors that Republicans won't extend the current Farm Bill without insisting on further cuts, and he thinks approving the reconciliation without the Senate's approval "is just going to almost guarantee that you’re not going to get a bill done.” (Read more)