Senate Work on Farm Bill to Start

Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow said Monday that the Senate is expected to get to work on the farm bill today (Tuesday). There could be a cloture fight on the motion to proceed - southern Senators still say the bill is unfair to rice and peanut growers. But ultimately - Stabenow believes the 60 votes for cloture are there. Stabenow told reporters the bill could take two to three weeks on the Senate floor. That could delay House action - where Ag Chair Frank Lucas plans to watch debate in the Senate before assembling his version of the bill. Based on comments from Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson - it does look likely that the House will be working with a bill that differs from the Senate version.