This week by unanimous consent the House approved a motion to go to conference on the Farm Bill. The Senate will soon follow the House lead.
Going to conference means both the House and Senate will appoint lawmakers who will get together to iron out differences in the two versions of the Farm Bill.
Following the vote to go to conference, the House appointed 29 Republicans and 18 Democrats to serve on the conference committee. Look for the Senate to do the same early next week.
Last month, the House approved its version on the 2018 Farm Bill with a 213-211 vote. The bill includes funding for programs important to the floral industry. The bill reauthorizes funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), and Pest and Disease Programs as well as amends the Plant Varieties Protection Act to provide legal protections to asexually reproduced crops.
The Senate version of the Farm Bill includes many of the same provisions important to the floral industry. The bill, like the House version, reauthorizes funding for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) and the other provisions mentioned above. However, in an improvement from what is in the House, the Senate bill removes the citrus disease research provision from the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), freeing-up $25 million that would have otherwise been spent on citrus priorities.
The full list of House conferees is found below. SAF will report on the Senate conferees as soon as they are announced.
HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFEREES
House Agriculture Committee Conferees:
1. Chairman Mike Conaway (TX-11)
2. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-05)
3. Bob Goodlatte (VA-06)
4. Frank Lucas (OK-03)
5. Mike Rogers (AL-03)
6. Austin Scott (GA-08)
7. Rick Crawford (AR-01)
8. Vicky Hartzler (MO-04)
9. Rodney Davis (IL-13)
10. Ted Yoho (FL-03)
11. David Rouzer (NC-07)
12. Roger Marshall (KS-01)
13. Jodey Arrington (TX-19)
House Education and the Workforce Committee Conferees:
1. Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC)
2. Rick Allen (GA-12)
House Energy and Commerce Committee Conferees:
1. John Shimkus (IL-15)
2. Kevin Cramer (ND-AL)
House Financial Services Committee Conferees:
1. Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05)
2. Sean Duffy (WI-07)
House Foreign Affairs Committee Conferees:
1. Chairman Ed Royce (CA-39)
2. Steve Chabot (OH-01)
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Conferees:
1. Mark Walker (NC-06)
2. James Comer (KY-01)
House Natural Resources Committee Conferees:
1. Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01)
2. Bruce Westerman (AR-04)
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Conferees:
1. Ralph Abraham (LA-05)
2. Neal Dunn (FL-02)
House Transportation and Infrastructure Conferees:
1. Jeff Denham (CA-10)
2. Bob Gibbs (OH-07)
HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CONFEREES
House Agriculture Committee Conferees:
- Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)
- David Scott (D-Ga.)
- Jim Costa (D-Calif.)
- Tim Walz (D-Minn.)
- Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio)
- Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)
- Filemon Vela (D-Texas)
- Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.)
- Ann Kuster (D-N.H.)
House Armed Services Committee Conferees:
1. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.)
House Education and the Workforce Committee Conferees:
1. Alma Adams (D-N.C.)
House Energy and Commerce Committee Conferees:
1. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.)
House Financial Services Committee Conferees:
1. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)
House Foreign Affairs Committee Conferees:
1. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.)
House Natural Resources Committee Conferees:
1. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Conferees:
1. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.)
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Conferees:
1. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas)
House Transportation and Infrastructure Conferees:
1. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.)
