Posted November 15, 2013
House Agricultural Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-MN) said that the conference is making progress toward a farm bill deal, according to an article by The Hill available here.
Peterson suggested that the framework for an agreement could be finished next week, stating, “It will probably be next week…far be it for me to set deadlines.” Peterson said good work is being done on the energy title and the controversial nutrition title. He said that, so far, leaders including House Agricultural Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK), and Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), the chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee “have been left alone by party leaders.”
Conferee Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), lead negotiator on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly called “food stamps,” said she was hopeful that they would get to a “starting place” on cuts in the next couple of days. The Senate bill cuts the program by $4 billion in addition to the $11 billion in cuts this month. The House bill cuts $39 billion from the program. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack recently urged lawmakers to reject the “hatchet” cuts to SNAP in the House bill, according to a Reuters article available here.
Other challenges remaining include the issue of target prices and how to build a new safety net to replace the current system of direct cash payments to farmers, according to a Politico article available here.
The Senate bill proposes to “set its targets by using a five-year rolling average of market prices multiplied by 55 percent. When pressed, the authors admit there is no magic to the 55 percent number. But as a practical matter, it makes the program worthless to many growers, especially wheat.”
The House bill has been criticized for “being too quick to count even a farmer’s labor and land investments in calculating production costs.” Part of the criticism is regional and reflects the “House’s greater sensitivity” to Southern agriculture.
What most agree on, however, is that they want a farm bill.
For more information on Farm Bills, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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