Conferees Send Appropriations Back for Final Okay

October 1, 1999

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) made it official late Thursday: enough signatures had been obtained to send the agricultural appropriations bill back to the Senate and House for final approval. Action on the bill could come today. When it is signed into law, USDA can begin sending $5.5 billion in checks to farmers to shore up incomes stunted by low commodity and livestock prices and another $1.2 billion in disaster aid payments. At least in theory, farmers could begin receiving those checks by mid-month.

The $8.7 billion package does not extend the Northeast Dairy Compact, nor does it reform unilateral economic sanctions. It does contain two major items that were in neither the House nor the Senate bill: mandatory reporting of livestock prices, and an additional $125 million in dairy subsidies.

The bill also allows the use of certificates to redeem price support loans in some circumstances, potentially avoiding payment limitations for many farmers. Although appropriators and House leaders were apparently nervous Thursday about their vote counts, many observers thought the bill would survive its final House vote Friday, with Senate action possible today as well.