Good for Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the ranking minority member and the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, for demonstrating bipartisanship and getting a new farm bill formally filed Thursday in advance of a possible June floor debate. In crafting this latest bill, the senators had to account for not only the usual competing agricultural interests that stem from geography but also the Capitol Hill fever to reduce the federal deficit. Stabenow’s goal was to achieve at least $23 billion in savings over the next decade. Roberts’ goals include seeing the bill move quickly. “We have a Sept. 30 deadline; farmers and ranchers and lenders – especially lenders – are getting nervous,” he said.
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