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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHouse deals shock defeat to Republican farm bill
(Reuters) - Republican budget-cutters joined Democratic defenders of food stamps on Thursday to deal a shocking defeat to the $500 billion farm bill backed by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, undermining hopes of enacting legislation before the current stop-gap law expires.
The embarrassing loss for Republican leaders was the first time in at least 40 years that the House voted down a farm bill. Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor generally do not bring legislation to the floor until they are sure they have enough votes for passage.
It showed the power of the Tea Party-influenced fiscal conservatives to disrupt legislation. A Library of Congress study showed it also may be the first time in history the House has rejected a farm bill, although in 2012 a farm bill died without being brought to a vote.
Agricultural interest groups were stunned.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-usa-agriculture-idUSBRE95J10C20130620
JimDandy
(7,318 posts)conservatives wouldn't vote for it because they wanted even deeper cuts to the Food Assistance program attached to the bill.
spanone
(135,921 posts)not a chance in hell
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)...so we can tie it like an albatross around the Tea Party's neck and guarantee their electoral destruction in 2014 and 2016.