The provision was part of a larger effort to expand the charter of the Farm Credit System (FCS) so that the FCS would be able to offer not only loans but also other financial services, such as accounting and tax services, to a large new class of non-farm borrowers.  The House defeated the effort on a voice vote on a Floor amendment.

"The AICPA thanks House members for their vote because enacting such a provision would lead to unfair competition for CPAs, especially smaller CPA firms in agricultural communities," said AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon.

In a statement issued last week, the AICPA said that "because FCS institutions have lower costs as a result of their advantaged government sponsored entity status, and because the provision would have allowed the FCS institutions to bundle services such as tax, lending, and books and records keeping to a broader group of non-farm businesses than they can at present, CPAs would have been at a competitive disadvantage. Likely types of businesses include hardware stores, truck and farm equipment dealers, transportation companies and small manufacturers and others who sell their goods and services to farmers."

The farm bill must still be considered by the Senate, which has not yet finished drafting its farm bill.  "We’ll be watching Senate action very closely," Melancon said. 

He noted that Congressional leaders plan final action on the farm bill by the end of September, when the current Farm Act expires.