Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed a cloture motion that will require 60 votes for passage, clearing the way for a vote on final passage on Tuesday.
The nearly $1 trillion agricultural policy was debated by the senators. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) told lawmakers that the bill would provide a much-needed boost for beginning farmers and ranchers, noting that the average age of a U.S. farmer is 57 years old. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) spoke in appreciation of livestock disaster programs, while Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said he will not support the legislation due to the lack of necessary reforms for the national’s farm programs, federal nutrition programs and burdensome regulations.
President Obama is expected to receive a five-year farm bill next week from Congress, according to Agri-Pulse.