Pelosi predicts no compromise on farm bill by October deadline

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday she doubts Congress will pass farm legislation by the Oct. 1 deadline.

"I'm not confident, unfortunately," Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill.

She said the Republican plan for a $40 billion cut in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- commonly called food stamps -- would move the House bill so far to the right a compromise with a Senate bill would be unworkable.

Pelosi's remarks echo those Thursday of Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., who said "adding an additional $20 billion in nutrition cuts ... effectively kills any hopes of passing a five-year farm bill this year."

GOP leaders say the SMAP cuts are motivated to ensure that only those who need federal assistance receive it, the Washington newspaper The Hill reported Friday.

"There will be cuts in the food stamp program, in the nutrition program," Pelosi said, "but to go to $40 billion (in cuts) is to say, 'We do not share the values of those who think that America should not be a country where one in four children goes to sleep hungry.'"