Grassley ready to hit panic button on Farm bill

With the Farm Bill set to expire Sept. 30, Sen. Chuck Grassley is ready to hit the panic button.

Again.

'I think I hit the panic button in April,” the Iowa Republican, who criticized the U.S. House for playing partisan politics with the measure, said Wednesday.

'When we got back from Easter, I thought it was going to be up. Then it was going to be up in May. Now they say it will be June,” he said.

A version of the Farm Bill failed in the House by 15 votes earlier this month. Democrats had criticized work requirements for food stamp recipients, including those older than 50 and parents of young children. Although Republicans have a majority, conservative Republicans who were demanding a vote on an immigration crackdown also voted against it.

That's not encouraging to Grassley. If the legislation is not approved by August, he expects Congress will have to extend the current Farm Bill for a year and take it up again in 2019.

Grassley expects a bipartisan bill to be approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee and the full Senate. In that case, he said, the House may have to accept the Senate version of the bill.

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