Southern Bill Dropped in Senate

November 12, 2001

A bill said to be "closely modeled" after the House-passed farm bill, has been introduced in the Senate. House Agriculture Committee leaders reacted immediately, praising the move. It brings to at least five the number of farm bills introduced in the Senate.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) has his bill; ranking Republican member Richard Lugar (IN) has a farm bill; Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN) has introduced a bill, and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has put a comprehensive commodity title on the table. A sixth bill on the list would be the measure approved by the House.

The latest bill comes from Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) with Sens. Jesse Helms (R-NC), Zell Miller (D-GA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and John Breaux (D-LA) as co-sponsors.

"The inputs costs our farmers have experienced over recent years have skyrocketed, while the prices they receive for their commodities continue to fall," said Lincoln. "It is not only our farmers who are suffering as a result of failed government policy. The institutions of small-town and rural America – local banks and merchants, feed and supply stores, equipment dealers, even corner groceries and family-owned hardware stores – are all caught in the web of financial collapse. Today, we offer a farm bill that will ensure a strong, safety net for America's farmers, ranchers and rural America. Now more than ever the strength of our national economy, and strength of our infrastructure depend on the stability of rural America and the agriculture producers that support it."

"Farmers in Arkansas and across the nation are counting on Congress to craft a strong and responsible farm bill this year so that they will be able to plant next year," said Hutchinson. "Rather than rely on emergency payments each year, our bill will create the type of stability and certainty our farmers need to compete effectively in the global marketplace. This bill offers the best chance for getting a bill to the President this fall; I hope it will be brought to the Senate floor very soon."

Hutchinson and Lincoln introduced their legislation in hopes it would speed Senate action on a new farm bill this year. While the House passed its bill more than a month ago, the Senate Agriculture Committee has been slow to move a measure to the Senate floor.

In addition, Lincoln and Hutchinson noted the draft bill being considered in the Senate is markedly different from the House bill, "endangering prospects of negotiating a final measure that can be sent to the President before the end of the year," said a statement issued by the two sponsors.

The Lincoln-Hutchinson bill provides three forms of commodity assistance: fixed, decoupled payments; marketing loans; and counter-cyclical support. The bill also offers producers the choice of updating program bases in response to market conditions.

Also, the legislation expands participation for soil and water conservation programs by almost 80% above current budget trends. It would increase annual enrollment in the Wetlands Reserve Program by 150,000 acres, raise the cap in the Conservation Reserve Program to 39.2 million acres, and provide $1.3 billion annually for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

On the issue of trade, the bill reauthorizes the Market Access Program with an increase of $180 million per year and increases funding for the food aid program, Food for Progress, by $100 million over ten years. The bill also increases funding for nutrition programs.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) and ranking Democrat Charles Stenholm (TX) commended Lincoln and Hutchinson "for their strong bipartisan leadership in advancing the cause of a new farm bill this year. Senators have obviously been listening to America's farmers and ranchers because the bill they introduce today is what the farmers and ranchers from every region of the country have been asking for."