Illinois Congressman Bill Enyart was one of only 24 Democrats who voted in favor of the U.S. House’s failed Farm Bill yesterday. Enyart represents Illinois’s 12th congressional district, which spans from Alton to Cairo. Enyart supported the bill despite some misgivings.
Enyart, who sits on the House Agriculture Committee, opposed the House bill’s two billion dollars of annual cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.
But he voted for the bill in hope its problems would be ironed in conference with the Senate. The Senate passed its version last week.
Now, he expects the current farm bill to get another extension.
“I would certainly work for a two-year extension rather than a one-year extension because a one-year extension is just going to put us right into election time next year, and based on what’s happened today I don’t see any possibility of anything good happening a year from now,” Enyart said.
Enyart and Cheri Bustos were the only Illinois Democrats who voted for the bill, along with all the state’s Republicans.
Missouri’s six Republican Congress members voted for the bill, while both Democrats did not.
