California Ag TODAY: Farm Bill Conference Committee Named

WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) TODAY named the following House Republican negotiators to serve on the House-Senate Conference Committee charged with resolving differences between the House and Senate-passed Farm Bills:

“The Farm Bill extension measures passed by the House include much-needed reforms that cut spending and help strengthen our agriculture and food stamp programs. I’m confident that the negotiating team named today will do an excellent job of ushering these reforms through Congress and to the president’s desk, and I thank each of them for their willingness to serve.”

NOTE: Here are the House Republicans the Speaker is naming to serve on the House-Senate conference committee:

Leadership conferee:

• Rep. Steve Southerland (R-FL)

House Agriculture Committee conferees:

• Rep. Frank D. Lucas (R-OK), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee

• Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

• Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)

• Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL)

• Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX)

• Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA)

• Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA)

• Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR)

• Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL)

• Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD)

• Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA)

• Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)

House Foreign Affairs Committee conferees:

• Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman

• Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA)

House Ways & Means Committee conferees:

• Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman

• Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX)

U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) issued the following statement after being appointed to the conference between the House and Senate on the 2013 Farm Bill:

“I am honored to have been appointed to the Farm Bill Conference Committee. As an almond farmer and representative of California’s Central Valley, where agriculture is one of the primary drivers of the local economy, I know how vital the Farm Bill is to farmers and ranchers, not to mention to the American people who rely on a safe and affordable food supply. The Farm Bill represents significant reforms to long established programs, and I look forward to working with Senate counterparts to produce a final product that will give American growers and producers a competitive and productive global edge while saving taxpayers money.”