Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) is a member of both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Committee on the Budget, plus she’s a farmer, so her perspective on what’s happening right now to try and get a farm bill passed is important to hear. You may recall that we spoke with her just about one month ago, before the bill was defeated by the full House.

By late Wednesday, Hartzler said different options were still being considered. “I don’t know all of the options, but one certainly would be to go back and leave (the bill) as it came out of committee” that is, without the final controversial food stamp amendment that was the final straw for many Democrats.

As a lifelong Missouri farmer, Hartzler remains frustrated by the inability of the House to pass a farm bill and is willing to try splitting the bill to get it done. “I think there probably is some merit in trying to split the bill to get the votes of the almost 70 Republicans that voted no,” she said. “So, let’s try it.” The House is now expected to do just that sometime today, according to news reports out this morning.

The House has been focused this week on completing the spending bill for energy and water programs, which is requiring some difficult cuts. “Our goal is to balance the federal budget within ten years,” she said. “That means we have to be smarter in how we spend our dollars.”

Vicky covers lots more in this interview: Interview with Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)