Stabenow warns against unrelated amendments in farm bill

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) issued a strong warning against senators attaching unrelated amendments to a farm bill the Senate is considering.

Stabenow's statement came as the Senate was debating the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (S. 3240), which Stabenow sponsored along with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).

"Amendments that have nothing to do with agriculture do not belong in the Farm Bill and delay the Senate’s ability to get its job done," Stabenow said in a statement to The Hill. "There are not many bills that reduce the deficit and create jobs with as much bipartisan support as this one, so it’d be unfortunate if a small group of senators tried to get in the way of it with off-topic amendments."

The Senate spent most of Wednesday introducing amendments to the farm bill, many of which were not directly related to the legislation. An agreement over amendments could be the deciding factor over whether the farm bill moves forward. If legislators do not come to an agreement on amendments, the farm bill could stall in the chamber.

Stabenow added that she and Roberts would work with the Senate leadership to keep the amendments from obstructing passage of the bill.

"If non-germane amendments are offered, Sen. Roberts and I will work with our leadership and members to address them in a way that does not stop us from passing this important reform bill," Stabenow said.

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