Page 10 - Farm Bill Series_The 7 Things You Should Know

A rancher from western Oklahoma and a self-professed farm bill historian, Rep. Frank Lucas,
was tapped to head the House Agriculture Committee. Peterson became the ranking minority
member.

Most noticeably missing after 2010 – at least for many in the agricultural community – were the
so-called Blue Dog Democrats, especially those from the South. These members represented
many agricultural and rural districts and served as swing votes on fiscally conservative issues –
often siding with their GOP counterparts and against the more liberal members of their own
party.

But as a result of redistricting, which placed several conservative Democrats like Charlie
Stenholm of Texas and Dennis Cardoza of California in hard-to-win, largely GOP districts, the
th
number of Blue Dogs shrank from 54 members in the 100th Congress to only 19 in the 113 .
Many of these Blue Dogs were replaced by conservative Republicans who were riding on the
Tea Party fervor of budget cutting and fiscal responsibility. Determined to make a difference in
reducing the federal deficit and downsizing government, the massive $480 billion (over 10 years)
farm bill was smack-dab in the middle of their sights. The GOP, which had picked up 63 seats in
the 2010 midterm, was focused on farm bill reform. Groups like the Heritage Foundation,
American Enterprise Institute and Competitive Enterprise Institute also gained considerably
more energy and clout than they had enjoyed in recent years.
Ohio’s John Boehner, a former member of the House Agriculture Committee and no fan of farm
bills (especially dairy price support programs) was elected Speaker. Eric Cantor, a Virginia
Republican who rose up the ranks as a reformer, was elected Majority Leader and acted as
somewhat of a go-between for more established GOP leaders and Tea Party members. That
association would eventually put him at odds with Ag Chairman Lucas.

The relatively good news for Lucas was that he had a long-time relationship with Boehner. The
Speaker respected the regular order of bills moving through the committee process. Lucas felt
confident that he could work with leadership to advance a new farm bill in 2011.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned. Reform-minded lawmakers from both the left
and the right started attacking the farm bill.

Trying to find the ‘new normal’

In 2011, the House and Senate Agriculture committees went about their regular business of
trying to kick-start the farm bill process.

Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who had become chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee the
previous November, had to hire and organize her staff and then scheduled the first farm bill field
hearing for April 9, 2011, in Lansing. But it was cancelled at the last minute due to budget
negotiations that appeared to be leading to a government shutdown. The shutdown was avoided,
but the farm bill hearing was postponed.

“It was another sign that the whole process was going to hell in a handbasket,” recalls one
source.

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