U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson last week added her signature to a House of Representatives procedural motion which, if it garners enough support, would require a vote on the Farm Bill.
“Our producers have just suffered through a summer-long drought. They face uncertainty from federal tax policy, federal energy policy and federal economic policy. The least Congress can do is to provide them some certainty on the issue of federal agriculture policy,” Emerson said.
Emerson is also the author of a major component of one measure, which won passage in the House, to renew three disaster programs for livestock and dairy producers.
“The Farm Bill is the No. 1 priority for the Americans who devote their lives to production of the world’s safest, most abundant, most affordable supply of food. I devoted a week in August to talking to producers about the challenges they face, and the absence of a Farm Bill is a leading concern among producers of nearly every agricultural commodity that comes out of Missouri,” Emerson said. “As long as we go without a Farm Bill, these folks are left in the lurch. Legislation this important demands a complete and timely debate in the House of Representatives, and that is the goal of this effort.”
The procedural motion, known as a discharge petition, must gain the signature of a majority of members of the House of Representatives, at which point the legislation must be reported for consideration. House Speaker John Boehner has not called for a vote on the issue.