Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow emphasized bipartisanship when she released her new farm bill. Minnesota Senator Tina Smith said the Stabenow bill can hold the big agriculture coalition together. There are a lot of similarities between the House and Senate farm bill proposals. The exception would be the approach to nutrition spending in the House bill. “Which they know the Democrats aren’t going to do and I think they have to get through that and just appreciate that they can’t pass a bill that has those kinds of cuts,” said Smith. “I don’t think they have the Republican votes in the House to pass their proposal even without Democratic support. We have to get serious and understand what we’re dealing with here and come to an agreement.” The interview with Senator Smith can be found online.
