House Republicans this week will try to push a five-year farm bill through the chamber, navigating debates on pesticides, ethanol and the effects of the Trump administration’s cuts to the Agriculture Department.
Always reliant on a patchwork of support from farm-state Republicans and urban Democrats, the farm bill this time offers a cloudier picture than usual of which coalitions will hold together.
The wrangling begins Monday with a meeting of the House Rules Committee, which will sort through more than 300 proposed amendments to determine which may receive consideration on the floor.
A fight around pesticides may provide the main drama, as Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) included provisions to shield pesticide manufacturers from certain liability around illnesses blamed on the chemicals and to block states from labeling the products in a way that implies support for those claims.
