House Conservatives Blocked the Farm Bill to Make a Big Point on Immigration

Abigail Robertson
05-18-2018

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WASHINGTON – In a blow to GOP House leadership, conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus voted against their party Friday, blocking a five-year farm bill from passing the House.
 
Freedom Caucus members were frustrated when leadership failed to allow them to bring the conservative-backed immigration bill introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to the floor ahead of the farm bill vote.

In response, they joined every House Democrat in voting against the unrelated 2018 farm bill, resulting in a 198-213 vote, which kills the bill for the time being.
 
Rep. Goodlatte, however, sits on the House Agriculture Committee and strongly supports the farm bill, referring to it as a "vital piece" of legislation.

He says he's "extremely disappointed" the bill failed to pass.

 
The farm bill is a priority for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) who believes it will "help people move from welfare to work." Following the vote's defeat, he took steps to call to insure the bill can be taken up again in the future, although it's unclear when that might be.

The bill aims to help those who benefit from food stamps, officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), moving them from government assistance and back to work.  

"It sets up a system for SNAP recipients where, if you are able to work, you should work to get the benefits," Ryan said. "And if you can't work, we'll help you get the training you need. We will help you get the skills you need to get an opportunity."

Democrats were unsupportive of the measure mainly because they were not confident the programs could really be implemented well enough to benefit people and they disapprove of the cuts it makes to food stamps.

"While I agree that there are changes that need to be made to the SNAP program, this is so clearly not the way to do it," said Rep. Colin Peterson (D-MN) who sits on the Agriculture Committee. "The bill cuts more than $23 billion in SNAP benefits and will result in an estimated 2 million Americans unable to get the help they need."

Other provisions in the measure called for a reduction in federal regulations for farmers, ranchers, and foresters and a boost in high speed internet access to rural areas.

Republicans like Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) are disappointed the measure failed.

"The farm bill would provide needed certainty for Kansas farmers and ranchers by protecting crop insurance and repealing burdensome Obama-era regulations like the Waters of the US rule," Estes said in a statement. "I will continue to fight for Kansas farmers and ranchers and urge Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats to stop playing political games with the farm bill."

The House Agriculture Committee members cancelled their scheduled press conference following the failed vote.

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About The Author

Abigail
Robertson

Abigail Robertson serves as the White House Correspondent for CBN News, where she has worked since 2015. As a reporter, Abigail covers stories from a Christian perspective on American politics and the news of the day. Before her role at the White House, Abigail covered Capitol Hill, where she interviewed notable lawmakers such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. During her time on the Hill, Abigail loved highlighting how God is moving in the House and Senate by covering different ministries on Capitol Hill and sharing lawmakers’ testimonies and
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