Cheering on House floor celebrating Farm Bill failure

UPDATE: Congressman Tom Latham’s statement is below.

I’m sure there’ll be more, but Congressman Bruce Braley was the first Iowan to issue a statement about the Farm Bill’s failure in the U.S. House of Representatives today.  All four Iowa congressmen — Republicans Tom Latham and Steve King and Democrats Braley and Dave Loebsack — voted for the bill, but they were on the losing side. Only 195 voted yes; 234 voted no. 

There was cheering on the floor of the House when the bill failed. Opposition to the bill seems to center on the portion of the bill that provides the money for the “food stamp” program. Democratic critics of the bill say it cut too deeply into the food stamp budget, while Republican opponents of the legislation say it didn’t cut deeply enough.  The significant tally of 234 “no” votes came from 172 Democrats and 62 Republicans. 

Read statements from Braley and Latham below: 

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today released the following statement after the US House of Representatives rejected the Farm Bill by a vote of 195-234.

Braley was one of 24 Democrats who voted for the bill, HR 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013:

“I am angry and frustrated at the failure of the House to recognize the importance of a long-term Farm Bill extension to farmers and rural America. Passing a Farm Bill isn’t optional – it’s a necessity for Iowa agriculture producers who need certainty and predictability so they can invest in the future, create jobs, and grow our economy.

“Today’s vote is Washington at its very worst: when ideology stands in the way of progress for our economy and the American people. Once again, the House has failed in its responsibility to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill after the Senate did its job.

“While this Farm Bill was far from perfect, the best way to fix its flaws is to work together to find common ground – not reject it entirely and start from nothing. I’m proud the four members of Iowa’s delegation agreed and voted together to move the Farm Bill forward. I will continue to work to bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass a Farm Bill because the stakes are too high to accept failure.”

WASHINGTON — Iowa Congressman Tom Latham released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives voted down H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013, by a tally of 195-234. Latham voted in favor of the legislation.

“I am deeply disappointed with the House’s failure to join together to pass this Farm Bill. For months now, the agriculture community in Iowa and across the United States has requested and deserved a long-term policy that gives them certainty from Washington, and today unfortunately marks further and harmful delay.

“The record now shows that nearly three out of four House Republicans voted to help advance sensible reforms to agriculture programs and provide certainty to Iowa farmers, while barely one in ten House Democrats can say the same. However, I have real frustration with the members of both parties — Republican and Democrat — who have blocked progress on this issue, denying us the opportunity to achieve $40 billion in commonsense savings to taxpayers and Iowa farmers the respect and certainty they deserve.”