A new five-year farm bill quickly cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday, despite regional sparring between Midwest and Southern Republicans over revisions in the commodity title to win support from peanut and rice producers.
The action came as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) failed in a behind-the-scenes effort to convince the committee leadership to include his legislation to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp — a priority for farm interests back home in Kentucky.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told POLITICO that he and McConnell are still pressing Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) — a member of the Agriculture panel — to support their efforts when the giant bill gets to the floor.
McConnell, who is up for reelection in 2014, was not immediately available for comment. But he stood out as the sole Southern Republican on the Agriculture committee to oppose the farm bill on the final 15-5 roll call Tuesday afternoon.
Others voting “nay” were Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kas.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the sole Democratic dissenter.
Gillibrand’s vote reflected her concern over proposed savings from the food stamp program, reforms that could impact New York disproportionately. But the far greater political challenge facing Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is across-the-aisle: the regional and ideological split seen in the GOP.
Together with McConnell’s hemp issue, this sets up what could be a cantankerous Senate floor debate this month. And Stabenow’s hope is that farm-state Republicans will ultimately come back together to get past the 60-vote threshold required to overcome protracted delays.
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