
Snow Day
This time, blame Old Man Winter.
Farm bill negotiators said they would not reach a deal before the end of the week when the U.S. House adjourns for the last time in 2013.
Stormy weather in the U.S. capital stranded a key employee from the Congressional Budget Office, leaving lawmakers without cost estimates they needed to work on a compromise.
The country's previous farm legislation expired in September amid an ongoing fight over the future of SNAP benefits and crop insurance.
Negotiators said they were close to a deal and expected a vote in early January.
Spilled Milk?
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow told reporters on Tuesday that milk prices would not soar in January as a result of the delay.
Without a current farm bill, dairy policy reverts to legislation passed in 1949, a move that could double the cost of milk.
But Stabenow said the increase would not take effect next month.
Read More:
- Top Negotiators Say U.S. Farm Bill Delayed To January (Reuters)
- Congressional Work On Farm Bill Likely To Spill Into 2014 (NPR)
- No Farm Bill In 2013 (Politico)