Del.icio.us  Digg  facebook  MySpace  Twitter  Google  Bookmark Me  LinkedIn  StumbleUpon  Permalink

Details of Farm Bill Reported by Conference Committee

At the beginning of Thursday's press conference on the new Farm Bill, Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, spoke about a comment he heard a staff member say comparing passing a farm bill with passing a kidney stone.

"Never having done that, I can still appreciate the analogy," Harkin says, "It's been a long and difficult road to this day, but as chair of the Senate-House Conference Committee on the Farm Bill I am happy to announce that the principal farm bill negotiators have produced a final conference agreement on the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008."

Harkin went on to describe the proposed bill as a strong bipartisan measure that offers something for all Americans.

"The bill provides a strong safety net so it's good for our farmers and ranchers. Consumers will like it because it increases farmers markets and ensures a safe, dependable supply of high quality food," Harkin says. "For low income Americans, it ensures nutrition needs are met and for school children it increases their access to fresh fruits and vegetables."

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., told reporters that 73.5% of the funding in the bill goes to nutrition programs, while 16.1% is for commodities, crop insurance and disaster, a drop from the 28% in the 2002 Farm Bill. Conservation, specialty crops and cellulosic ethanol all were included in the bill as was an optional average crop revenue program in which farmers would take a cut in payments but receive a counter cyclical support.

"We have responded; we kept a safety net for the farmers and we've made a huge contribution to people that need help right now because of the food prices being what they are," Peterson. "There is a ton of money in here for food banks that need it and improvements in the Food Stamp program and what better time to make this contribution."

Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee says that in 2002 there was a lot of criticism of the levels of spending, but the commodity title of that bill saved more than $20 billion dollars.

"I suspect that in this farm bill we're going to see significant savings also, because what we did in 2002 has been continued in this farm bill," Chambliss says. "We developed a very market oriented process so that our farmers and ranchers can achieve their income stream from the marketplace rather than it coming from Washington. That's what they want and that's what we want."

Highlighted during the conference was reform, particularly in payment limitations. Hard caps were set at $500,000 for non-farm income and $750,000 for farm-income.

"Prior to this bill the income cap on non-farm income was $2.5 million, we brought it down to $500,000," Harkin says. "The President says we didn't get to $200,000; we got closer to $200,000 than we were. And on farm-income there was no cap, none, zero; now we're at $750,000."

Senator Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee emphasized that the bill is fully paid for with no tax increases associated with it.

"This bill was written with $58 billion less in resources than we had for the last farm bill," Conrad says. "That is a minor miracle. Those who say there is not reform here have not read this bill. This bill ends the three-entity rule; this bill requires the direct attribution of all farm program payments, and in addition dramatic changes in the income limits to qualify."

Harkin and Peterson say the bill will go to the floor of the House and Senate on Wednesday and they expect strong bipartisan support.