U.S. Senate leaders asked to get farm bill moving

September 28, 2007

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anti-hunger, religious, farm and labor groups asked Senate leaders on Friday to force action on an overhaul of U.S. farm law, delayed for weeks by disagreements over funding and crop subsidy reforms.

Sixty-one groups said in a letter to Senate leaders that "it is vitally important" for the bill to brought to the floor promptly. A handful of farm lobbyists said separately that many vexing issues are yet to be resolved.

Among them are how much new funding to allot for public nutrition programs like food stamps, whether to revise farm supports to include revenue protection and whether to put a tougher limit on farm subsidies.

"If you think people are fighting over money now, wait until next year," said Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union, foreseeing a further decline in agricultural funding.

Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Tom Harkin has the goal of writing a bill in committee next week, said an aide, but no date was set for a session. The Finance Committee was to meet on Wednesday to work on a $8 billion package to pay for farm disaster relief and land preservation.

If there is no action next week, the next chance will be in mid-October because the Senate will recess a week for Columbus Day.

"It is critical that the Senate develop omnibus farm legislation as soon as possible in order to assure enactment of a new farm bill this year," wrote the groups.

Authority for some important public nutrition and land stewardship programs will lapse if there is no prompt replacement of the 2002 farm law, they said.

The groups said "our organizations have differences on specific policy recommendations" but agree on the need to write a new farm law.

They sent their letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Harkin and Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the Republican leader on the Agriculture Committee.

To write a farm bill, said four farm lobbyists, the Senate Agriculture Committee faces issues that include:

--whether to create an ever-ready disaster relief program, to replace the patchwork aid now offered. A stand-by program could cost $1 billion or more a year.

--whether to include revenue protection in the farm safety net. Like disaster aid, it could be an expensive initiative. Skeptics say the approach favored by the Bush administration will work best only for the major states for each crop.

--whether to reduce the $5.2 billion guaranteed annually to grain, cotton and soybean farmers. The administration says the decoupled payments are the best way to avoid a world trade challenge. The NFU says the money should go to the traditional safety net.

--how to apportion new funding among nutrition, land stewardship, renewable energy and specialty crops. All of them hope for larger funding than now offered.

Buis said senators also should act on country-of-origin labels for red meat and dairy supports.

September 28, 2007

Press Room