House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said late today he will stop negotiating with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, because almost all of the Democratic members of his committee have asked him to stop until Conaway provides him the text of the bill, Congressional Budget Office scores and other information.

In an email to The Hagstrom Report, Peterson said, “The Democratic members have made clear that they unanimously oppose the farm bill’s SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) language as it has been described to them and reported in the press.”

“My next steps are clear and I will not be continuing negotiations with the chairman per the unanimous request of all Democratic members of the committee. I have suggested to the chairman that he makes the actual language, CBO scores and potential impacts available to our committee members.“

“I’m not sure where this will take us but it will give the members information about what is actually being proposed,” Peterson said.

Earlier today, 19 House members wrote Peterson to ask him to cease the negotiations. Teaganne Finn, the agriculture reporter for Bloomberg BNA, tweeted a copy of the letter.