House starts farm bill process

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By Matt Reese

To say that the farm bill will be an uphill battle in the House may be an understatement, yet agricultural groups are holding out hope for some definitive action this year. Speaker of the House and Ohioan John Boehner does not have a track record of support for farm bills and the list of amendments for the House bill may make the bogged down process in the Senate look like a cakewalk.

From Left to Right, Troy Ernest, Allen County, Lauren Fehlan, OFBF, Josiah Robinson, Union County and Congressman Jim Jordan Ohio’s 4th District meet during the 66th Annual Ohio Farm Bureau County Presidents Trip to Washington, D.C. Part of the discussion at the meeting was the House version of the farm bill.

With clear challenges ahead, late last night, the House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2012 by a vote of 35-11. From here, the bill will hopefully move to the House floor for debate. Then, if it passes the House, the differences will have to be hashed out between the Senate and the House versions of the farm bill in conference before going to the President for a final signature.

The House version cuts $12 billion more from the food stamps program than a Senate version, which is going to present challenges in hashing out a final version of the bill.

“On the House side, it is definitely about the budget. That will be the trouble coming together,” said Bret Davis, president of the Ohio Soybean Association. “We went in and stated our case to about 14 of our Representatives yesterday. They listened and they are very open-minded about it. They said that the food and nutrition side was a budget buster. They are very hopeful of getting something out before the September 30 deadline.”

Davis, too, is hopeful.

“Things work slow, but when they do come to fruition they can move really fast. We hope they can get their heads together,” he said. “They do understand that if they do not get this passed, that it will affect the tax cuts and other things moving forward. They will have to come together to get something worked out. There are many issues out there and we want it to be fair and equitable for every crop, but we do need a safety net.”

Moving forward there is much work to be done.

“I’m pleased today’s markup is behind us and we can continue to move the process forward. The current farm bill expires on September 30 and there only 13 legislative days before the August recess,” said Ranking Member Collin Peterson. “Simply put, the House leadership needs to bring the farm bill to the floor for a vote. We should not jeopardize the health of our rural economies which, by and large, have remained strong the last few years.  Our nation’s farmers and ranchers need the certainty of a new five year farm bill and they need it before the current farm bill ends.”

Photo by David Blankenship, Ohio Soybean Council.

Some of the highlights include:

  • FARRM saves more than $35 billion in mandatory funding.
  • FARRM repeals or consolidates more than 100 programs.
  • FARRM eliminates direct payments, streamlines and reforms commodity policy that saves taxpayers more than $14 billion.
  • FARRM improves program integrity and accountability in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that saves taxpayers more than $16 billion.
  • FARRM consolidates 23 conservation programs into 13, which improves program delivery to producers and saves taxpayers more than $6 billion.
  • FARRM provides regulatory relief, including H.R. 872, to mitigate burdens farmers, ranchers, and rural communities face.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the House farm bill is a fiscally responsible, bipartisan measure that continues to provide a basic-but-broad foundation of risk management protection for America’s farmers and ranchers,
“As the congressional calendar ticks down, time is of the essence,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “There are very few days remaining for this bill to be completed, but we need a new farm bill this year. We are committed to working with members of Congress to secure a bill that works for all Americans.”
Stallman said farmers are not going to receive all the provisions they had hoped for in this bill, but he commended “the bipartisan efforts that went into providing farmers and ranchers the risk management, marketing, conservation and trade tools necessary to ensure a solid, predictable agricultural economy over the next few years.”
“For more than a year, we have been advocating farm policy that protects and strengthens risk management programs for all farmers,” Stallman said. “This legislation maintains proven program features such as the marketing loan provision and strengthens the crop insurance program while setting a clear example of fiscal responsibility with significant but fair reductions in agriculture spending over the next decade.”
Stallman commended House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) for their leadership and teamwork on the bill.
“Just as with the Senate farm bill, there are provisions we think could be improved — and we will continue working with leadership of both committees as the process moves forward,” Stallman said. “But at a time when bipartisan compromise is such a challenge in Washington, it is refreshing to see agriculture, through our elected leaders, set a clear example of working together on building a package of reforms in a fiscally responsible manner. We remain hopeful a farm bill can be completed and sent to President Obama before the current programs expire September 30.”

 

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