Ranking House Agriculture Committee member Collin Peterson recently promised to block efforts to pass a new farm bill until Speaker of the House John Boehner promises to bring the bill to a floor vote.

Despite making significant gains on passing a new five-year farm bill this summer, congressional infighting and election year politics derailed efforts to pass a new bill. While the Senate and the House Agriculture Committee passed versions of the farm bill, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor both refused to put the bill on the House schedule.

While Congress inserted a temporary farm bill extension in the fiscal cliff agreement, rural politicians and agricultural lobbyists are upset at the lack of a new five-year bill.

Rep. Peterson penned a scathing letter to Speaker Boehner. “Given your long-standing opposition to farm programs and previous farm bills, it was no surprise that there were provisions in the bill that you could not support. But instead of allowing those objections to be aired in an open debate and letting the House ‘work its will,’ the Republican Leadership bottled up the Committee’s farm bill,” Peterson wrote. “Having served together on the Agriculture Committee for many years, I could not believe that you and your Leadership team could treat the committee with such disrespect.”

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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer