Roberts: Congress is running out of time to finish the farm bill conference report

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who also chairs the House-Senate farm bill conference committee, said late Wednesday that Congress is running out of time to finish the farm bill conference report before the current bill expires on September 30, and urged House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., to be in Washington next week even though the House is scheduled to be out of session, Politico reported. “We're running out of time,” Roberts told reporters before a meeting with Conaway, Peterson and Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. The meeting was crucial in determining whether lawmakers can sprint to make the Sept. 30 deadline.