| WASHINGTON (AP) -- Farm groups, worried that their subsidies could be
cut in the aftermath of the terrorist strikes, are counting on the House
to approve a $170 billion farm bill this week.
The House is expected to start debating the legislation on Wednesday,
with a final vote on Thursday. That could put pressure on the Senate to
quickly pass legislation of its own.
Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, called
the legislation an " economic stimulus package" for rural
America.
The bill would increase subsidies for grain, cotton and soybean farmers
by $37 billion over 10 years by creating a new assistance program tied to
swings in crop prices.
Groups representing those growers are worried about a proposed
amendment that would shift $19 billion of their subsidies into
conservation programs that take land out of production or reward farmers
for improved environmental practices.
Aides to Rep. Larry Combest, R-Texas, chairman of the House Agriculture
Committee, have told farm lobbyists he will block final action on the bill
if that amendment is approved. Combest was confident that the amendment
would be defeated, spokesman Keith Williams said Tuesday.
Stallman, a Texas rice grower, said the amendment would " create
more economic hardship in the countryside."
The proposal' s supporters say it would ensure that more states benefit
from farm programs.
" It' s the biggest challenge (farm groups) have faced in a long
time, " said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group,
an advocacy organization. " It' s really looking at redrawing the
subsidy map."
Funding for the farm bill is precarious.
The legislation was approved by the House Agriculture Committee in July
and counts on using $72 billion in surplus funds that were projected in a
congressional budget agreement this spring. That surplus is fast
disappearing in the wake of the terrorist attacks in September.
But farm groups think that quick action in Congress will get them most
or all of that $72 billion.
House approval of the bill will allow farmers to put pressure on the
Senate to act this year, Stallman said.
The Bush administration has not taken a position on the bill, but
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Tuesday that there was no reason
for Congress to hurry, since existing programs don' t expire until next
September.
" Certainly we would like to have time for a thoughtful discussion
of all the issues, " Veneman said. " It' s not an issue that we
think needs to be taken up immediately."
Besides the conservation amendment, there also are expected to be
proposals in the House to lower price supports for sugar and to put strict
payment limits on grain and cotton subsidies. A program created a year ago
allows large farms and corporations to bypass the $150, 000-per-person cap
on crop subsidies.
The bill is H.R. 2646. |