WAWG
In May, the House failed to pass their version of the farm bill when a group of Republicans joined forces with all the Chamber’s Democrats to vote no. The group of Republicans, known as the Freedom Caucus, had demanded separate votes on immigration before voting on the farm bill, which didn’t happen.After the vote failed, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) filed a motion to reconsider, which is a procedural motion that allows for a revote on the farm bill. The deadline to take up that motion to reconsider is Friday.
On the immigration front, there are two separate packages: a very conservative one, from Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte (R-Va.) and a separate bill negotiated by various GOP factions.The president met with the Republican caucus last night and reportedly indicated that he would sign either bill. The Republican whip team will be determining where they stand for votes on both immigration bills and whether or not to move forward on the floor with them. This has implications for the timing of a vote on the motion to reconsider the farm bill and the revote on final passage. Ryan is reported to have said that the House will vote on both immigration bills, as well as the farm bill, tomorrow.
The Senate is currently debating on a minibus appropriations bill for FY 2019. That chamber is expected to wrap up debate on the minibus, and then leadership could potentially call up the farm bill at the end of the week, with floor debate happening next week.
–Compiled from a National Association of Wheat Growers’ update
and various news reports