Farm Bill

The Farm Bill Conference Committee continues to negotiate a compromise after lawmakers extended the deadline to April 25.  Conferees are still in debate about how increases in Farm Bill spending will be funded. 

House and Senate conferees reached an agreement around a number of provisions relating to forestry, research, commodity futures, fruits and vegetables, and crop insurance.  A final agreement will not likely be reached until the conference committee determines how the entire bill will be funded.  Conferees have yet to finalize the nutrition title of the Farm Bill.   

Debate also continues over the amount of funding that should be made available above the baseline set for the bill.  The House has tentatively agreed to work with the Senate's framework which sets the total funding at $10 billion above baseline.  Senate leaders are pushing for an additional $2.5 billion in tax credits for conservation and alternative energy, a proposal that the House rejects.  Further debate continues over exactly what offsets should be used to finance the $10 billion Farm Bill funding increase. 

The Senate is expected to pass a two-week extension of the 2002 Farm Bill by the end of this week.  On Tuesday, April 22 however, the President issued a statement encouraging conferees to abandon their efforts, and instead pass a one-year extension of the current law.  The White House maintains that it will not sign a Farm Bill that raises taxes, and will not support an additional extension unless the conferees make significant progress towards an agreement on the final Farm Bill.   

The Congress needs to get the job done and enact a final Farm Bill with a strong nutrition title. Tell your representatives by visiting the Hunger Action Center at www.hungeractioncenter.org.