House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota welcomed farm bill text released by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry last week. In a statement on the eve of Committee markup, Peterson applauded the Senate for its bipartisan approach and expressed hope that the House would bring a similarly bipartisan bill to conference:
 
“What the Senate has put together reflects great work by Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow to set partisan goals aside and focus on a bill that addresses the issues we’ve heard about throughout this farm bill process. Pat and Debbie had a tough job considering the tight limits on the money they could use to write a new bill. They put a bill together that avoids poison pills, stays away from ideology on SNAP, and most importantly, should be able to get the votes to pass their chamber.

“I will support the certain things I can get behind in the Senate bill once we get to conference. Frankly, I’d like to be able to vote for a House bill. But right now, the Majority’s language can only get Republican votes. That doesn’t stack up to the bipartisan proposal that our Senate colleagues have put together, so we should come back to the drawing board and match their effort. My staff and I are available and eager to engage. That’s how we can get a product we know can become law and give our farmers and consumers the certainty they need.”