POLITICO: Lucas Ready To Move On Farm Bill
Frank Lucas to move on farm bill
By DAVID ROGERS | 4/18/13 2:56 PM EDT
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said Thursday that he will move ahead a farm bill markup May 15 despite pressure from the Republican leadership to take more time first and consider tougher changes in the food stamp program to win over conservative votes.
Lucas told POLITICO that he was fully prepared to hold listening sessions first with the Republican whip’s office over the next month. But he wants to keep to his schedule and produce a bipartisan bill together with his ranking Democrat, Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson.
“They suggested I take a little more time,” Lucas said of a meeting Thursday with Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his top staff. “I said I wanted to go May 15 but would be happy to hold the listening sessions to hear what my colleagues think.”
The tug-of-war is reminiscent of last summer, when Cantor first convinced Lucas to delay marking up his five-year farm bill and then joined with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in blocking the bill from ever coming to the House floor.