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Senate Dems ask Perdue for help with Farm Bill partisan divide

Several Democrats on the Senate Ag Committee asked Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to help calm the waters and the partisan divide over the House Ag Farm bill that was approved last week along party lines. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar shared her concern with Perdue at the committee hearing Tuesday on the ‘state of rural America.’

“The Farm Bill is just so incredibly important this year and we are looking at a very bipartisan way in the Senate and is there any way you can use your cheery influence to get the House to see that in that way?” asked Klobuchar, “Because, I’m just so concerned about the divide that’s going on over there.”

Perdue did not directly answer Klobuchar’s question about helping but last week testified at a hearing in full support of the SNAP work requirements included in the House Farm Bill which Democrats oppose.

Perdue told farm broadcasters before Tuesday’s hearing that he hopes politics ahead of the November elections doesn’t get in the way of the Farm Bill, “I hope their tactics are not stalling, hoping for a change of leadership in the House in ’18 where they could control more of the issues of the Farm Bill.”