Agriculture Conferees Meet

October 4, 2000

House and Senate conferees met last night to resolve differences over 2001 agriculture spending, but adjourned without debating the most contentious issues in the funding legislation. Discussion of trade sanctions reform and prescription drug imports was limited to procedural wrangling. Democrats warned against a repeat of last year’s agriculture conference, in which the Republican leadership eliminated a sanctions reform provision amid perceptions that conferees would have acted differently.

Early Wednesday, House staff said no time had been set for the next meeting of the conference. During Tuesday’s meeting, members gave surprising final approval to a proposal by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) that would constitute a major change in U.S. trade law. The amendment would channel revenues from anti-dumping and countervailing duties into a fund that would provide direct benefits to workers and industries injured by the unfair imports.