Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday accused Senate Democrats of holding up year-end agreements on the farm bill and the budget.
“It is time for the other chamber to get serious about getting its work done,” Boehner said after a closed-door meeting of the House Republican conference.
{mosads}The Speaker said Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had each made multiple serious offers to their Democratic counterparts on House-Senate conference committees on the farm bill and budget, respectively. But in both cases, Boehner said, “we can’t get Senate Democrats to say ‘yes.’ ”
A five-year farm bill and a two-year budget agreement are two of the major issues that congressional leaders want to resolve before lawmakers head home for the year.
Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are said to be relatively close on the contours of an agreement that would replace some of the sequestration cuts over the next two years. A deal would also forestall a government shutdown fight early next year.