Payment Limits Still on President's Agenda

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns told a Senate Appropriations Committee panel on farm spending last week that the Administration is willing to look at other cost-saving measures instead of payment limits, although the next day he retracted his comments and redefined the Administration's desire to cut the deficit.

In his comments to the Senate, Johanns explained that he acknowledges that the reduction in payment limits is a sensitive issue. Johanns faced stiff opposition from both parties, including top Congressmen in the House and Senate on the appropriations and agriculture committees.

There was an impression on the part of some in the media and perhaps some lawmakers that the Administration was backing away from a deficit reduction in agriculture because of Johanns' comments to work with Congress on other cost-saving recommendations.

When asked specifically about Johanns' stance on payment limits, he says he still remains very committed to the President's budget proposal and the Administration is "not backing away at all" when it comes to payment limits. Johanns' remains steadfast in the view that a high deficit is not good for agriculture.

Johanns clarified what he said to the committee was "look, we appreciate some of the proposals made are sensitive, and we want to do everything we can to work with you," he says. "But my willingness to work with the Hill is always a part of what we do. And my hope is that we're going to get a budget resolution here, a reconciliation resolution, and really start attacking this federal deficit to help our farmers and ranchers in the long-term."

A similar lower payment limit as the President proposed this spring was approved in the Senate during the last farm bill debate. However, higher limits were negotiated during a joint conference with both houses to settle each house's differences.