WASHINGTON (AP) Farm-state lawmakers say tough negotiations lie ahead for the five-year farm bill passed by Congress last year, mostly due to strong opposition from the White House to the $286 billion bill.
Members of the House and Senate agriculture committees say two issues stand out above the others as Congress tries to hammer out a deal: how the bill will be paid for and how much the legislation will limit federal farm subsidies to wealthy farmers.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he has had at least seven meetings with Acting Agriculture Secretary Charles Conner since the Senate passed its version of the bill in December. The House passed its bill in March.
Those negotiations have not gone very well, Peterson said.
"They are being pretty inflexible," he said.Associated Press
