"I think we kept this bill together and we're working in a bipartisan manner," a weary Collin Peterson, the ranking Democrat on the committee told Agriculture.com shortly after the vote.
The committee's chairman, Frank Lucas (R-OK) told reporters moments later, "We beat the expectations of a good many people in this building and in this town today."
Lucas wouldn't say exactly what his options are for getting the House leadership to put the bill up for a vote on the floor. "Those kinds of things we'll discuss tomorrow," he said.
Peterson, a Minnesota congressman, was more blunt. "They don't have much to do on the floor until August first anyway. I don't know what their excuse is to not get us on the floor."
Peterson said he didn't want to interfere with how Lucas tries to move the bill forward. But he said he might visit with the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, to encourage prompt action.
"Boehner's a friend of mine and I will talk to him, probably sometime next week," he said.
If there is one issue that unites virtually all farm groups and conservation organizations, its support for passage of a farm bill this year. Farm bills have been passed after they expired before, but Peterson believes that would be difficult to do after the election in November.
