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On Thursday the Senate voted 90 to 8 to move the farm bill forward to debate and a final vote that ag committee members would like to hold soon.
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It was far more than the 60 required under Senate rules, but the same rules allow for another 30 hours of delay, unless the Senate votes unanimously to proceed.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) a member of the Agriculture Committee, said he thought some Republicans might delay the bill for 30 hours. But some farm group lobbyists said the Ag Committee leadership may need that time anyway to sort through a growing list of likely amendments.
Shortly after the vote, the White House issued a statement of support for the bill.
"The Administration supports Senate passage of S. 3240, the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, and looks forward to working with the Congress to address...important concerns."
The statement from the Office of Management and Budget supports the bill's reforms, but said "the Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to achieve crop insurance and commodity program savings that are not contained in S.3240."
The President's budget had proposed cutting spending on crop insurance, including trimming farmer premium subsidies by two percentage points.
