The House voted 223-197 yesterday to provide $383 million in emergency drought assistance to farmers and ranchers, delaying work on the sprawling farm bill until September.

The decision to bring the stand-alone drought measure to the floor came after House leaders failed to take up the farm bill because of divisions over cuts to the national food stamp program.

The drought legislation would temporarily reauthorize emergency assistance programs that expired last September, drawing cash from conservation programs to support the increases (Greenwire, Aug. 1). It would also cut $250 million in direct spending. Work will resume on the $960 billion farm bill after Congress' five-week recess.

"My priority remains to get a five-year farm bill on the books and put those policies in place, but the most pressing business before us is to provide disaster assistance to those producers impacted by the drought conditions who are currently exposed," House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said on the floor. "It is as simple as that: There is a problem out there; let's fix it."

On the Republican side of the aisle, 188 members voted for the drought bill and 46 against it. Thirty-five Democrats votes for the measure, while 151 opposed it.

Critics call the drought bill a political stunt to give GOP members something to show their constituents over the break. Colorado Democrat Jared Polis labeled it a "bovine bailout."

"Rather than bringing this bill [the farm bill] to the floor, the House has instead focused on messaging bills that are going nowhere," Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) said.

House leaders released the language of the drought bill Tuesday after also failing to bring a one-year farm bill extension to the floor. The drought legislation was voted on under a closed rule; no amendments and only limited debate were allowed.

The Senate, which voted to include drought assistance in its farm bill passed in June, is not expected to take up the drought legislation.

Lucas, though, dismissed concerns yesterday that the Senate would not take up the bill and maintained that the measure was critical to help livestock producers.

"I have heard rumors that senators tend to represent lots of livestock people in their states, too. And this drought is kind of substantial across the country, and it would appear this is the only vehicle," he said. "Maybe you don't want to help the folks who are hurting. But I want to help the folks who are hurting."

Lucas called the drought bill "the first real test" of the House farm bill process and said that he and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders were still discussing how to negotiate on the larger farm bill over the month of August, when Congress is on recess.

Peterson, who voted for the drought bill despite his reservations, declared it "mystifying" why House leaders have stalled on the farm bill.

Industry observers say they have never seen the House fail to take up farm legislation after it has passed the House Agriculture Committee.

"It's just mystifying to me why House Leaders can't take 'yes' for an answer," Peterson said. "We've done our work -- the Senate has passed a farm bill; the House Agriculture Committee has passed a farm bill -- but leadership does not want to bring up the bill."

At a press briefing yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he was facing wide divides among both the left and the right over the farm bill.

"I've made pretty clear that the House is pretty well divided," Boehner said. "You've got the left concerned about reductions in the food stamp program; you've got the right that don't think the cuts go far enough in the food stamps program.

"Frankly, I haven't seen 218 votes in the middle to pass a farm bill."