House Republican leaders are preparing to split a massive farm bill in two and put it up for a vote as early as Thursday.
GOP leadership released a smaller version of the five-year bill late Wednesday, dropping a controversial section of the legislation that would have made small cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program.
Republicans are divided on how big cuts should be to food stamps, which have doubled in cost in the last five years. Democrats have opposed any cuts.
Late Wednesday, the White House released a statement say that President Obama would veto the House legislation if it is sent to him. The statement said that the food stamp program "is a cornerstone of our Nation's food assistance safety net, and should not be left behind as the rest of the Farm Bill advances."
Republicans have been counting votes for the bill containing only the farm programs over the last two days. Farm groups, anti-hunger groups and conservative groups have all opposed the idea.
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, last week, more than 500 farm groups asked the GOP leadership not to split the legislation.
The Democratic-led Senate, which overwhelmingly passed a farm bill with smaller cuts to food stamps, would be reluctant to go along with a split bill or further cuts to the programs.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said splitting the bill would be a "major mistake."
Some conservative groups have also campaigned against the strategy. Andy Roth of the Club for Growth sent a letter to members Wednesday saying the new bill would merely end up "leaving us back where we started."
Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said he sees “no clear path to getting a bill passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president.”
House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said as recently as last week that he opposed splitting the bill. But he has now reluctantly agreed to the strategy, saying he would support it if his Republican leaders could deliver the votes. Late Wednesday, he gave a reserved endorsement of the plan to the GOP-controlled Rules Committee, which determines the procedures for floor debate.
“Maybe the old dynamic of how we have done things since 1965 isn’t valid anymore,” he said. “Maybe it is time to try something different.”
Lucas said as he left the meeting that he didn’t know if the leadership had the 218 votes necessary for passage.
The bill would also repeal laws from the 1930s and 1940s, essentially eliminating all old farm policy which some conservatives like.
Farm-state lawmakers have kept those laws on the books so there would be incentive to pass new farm bills and avoid expiration, but the threat of outdated policies kicking in has been a headache for farmers who worry they can’t depend on Congress to create new laws or extend more recent versions of the law.
Repealing those decades-old laws could mean that Congress would have little incentive to create new farm bills, however, and could make many farm programs permanent.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GOP leadership released a smaller version of the five-year bill late Wednesday, dropping a controversial section of the legislation that would have made small cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program.
Republicans are divided on how big cuts should be to food stamps, which have doubled in cost in the last five years. Democrats have opposed any cuts.
Late Wednesday, the White House released a statement say that President Obama would veto the House legislation if it is sent to him. The statement said that the food stamp program "is a cornerstone of our Nation's food assistance safety net, and should not be left behind as the rest of the Farm Bill advances."
Republicans have been counting votes for the bill containing only the farm programs over the last two days. Farm groups, anti-hunger groups and conservative groups have all opposed the idea.
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, last week, more than 500 farm groups asked the GOP leadership not to split the legislation.
The Democratic-led Senate, which overwhelmingly passed a farm bill with smaller cuts to food stamps, would be reluctant to go along with a split bill or further cuts to the programs.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said splitting the bill would be a "major mistake."
Some conservative groups have also campaigned against the strategy. Andy Roth of the Club for Growth sent a letter to members Wednesday saying the new bill would merely end up "leaving us back where we started."
Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said he sees “no clear path to getting a bill passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president.”
House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said as recently as last week that he opposed splitting the bill. But he has now reluctantly agreed to the strategy, saying he would support it if his Republican leaders could deliver the votes. Late Wednesday, he gave a reserved endorsement of the plan to the GOP-controlled Rules Committee, which determines the procedures for floor debate.
“Maybe the old dynamic of how we have done things since 1965 isn’t valid anymore,” he said. “Maybe it is time to try something different.”
Lucas said as he left the meeting that he didn’t know if the leadership had the 218 votes necessary for passage.
The bill would also repeal laws from the 1930s and 1940s, essentially eliminating all old farm policy which some conservatives like.
Farm-state lawmakers have kept those laws on the books so there would be incentive to pass new farm bills and avoid expiration, but the threat of outdated policies kicking in has been a headache for farmers who worry they can’t depend on Congress to create new laws or extend more recent versions of the law.
Repealing those decades-old laws could mean that Congress would have little incentive to create new farm bills, however, and could make many farm programs permanent.
Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.