(Washington Times) As Congress bolts Washington this week for its pre-election recess, it will let lapse the massive federal farm bill, setting up a path for agricultural supports and subsidies to expire and return to a 1940s-era system — a scenario neither party nor the farm community is happy about.
The situation leaves lawmakers — particularly Republicans in the House where the measure has indefinitely stalled — fretting about having to face voters without the popular subsidies in hand.
Multiyear farm bills usually are among the most bipartisan legislative matters on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers from agricultural states and districts — despite party — come together to ensure their success. But with the bill stuck in the House due largely to intraparty bickering by Republicans, the current five-year farm bill will expire at the end of the month without a replacement.
