Boehner: No farm bill deals yet
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday downplayed the likelihood of imminent agreements on the budget and the farm bill, two major items that leaders hope to resolve by the end of the year.
The Speaker said he was “hopeful” that the House GOP budget chief, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), could strike a deal that could pass both chambers of Congress, but that none was yet at hand.
{mosads}“Paul Ryan came in today and gave us an update on where they were,” Boehner said at his weekly Capitol press conference. “I’m hopeful that they’ll be able to work this out, but there’s clearly no agreement.”
He would not say whether or when the House would move to pass a stopgap spending bill if no agreement was reached. The House-Senate budget conference committee has a deadline of Dec. 13, but federal funding does not run out until Jan. 15.
Rep Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said he expects next Wednesday is the real deadline in order for the conference committee to vote on a proposal before recess.
On the farm bill, Boehner was more pessimistic and raised the possibility of needing a one-month extension of current policy into next year.
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