The Senate yesterday passed legislation granting the President "fast track" or trade promotion authority by a vote of 64-34. The Senate approval came despite strong opposition from a broad coalition of labor, conservationists, and family farmers. 

The final legislation guts the Dayton-Craig provision, which required future trade deals to respect U.S. trade laws, such as those allowing our government and agricultural sectors to act against foreign government or multi-national dumping. It slashed the Senate's modest fixes to the NAFTA Chapter 11/foreign investor suit problem. 

Moreover, it encourages developing nations to engage in a "race to the bottom," in which governments can attract foreign investment by refusing to enforce labor and environmental laws or by lowering labor and environmental standards. The conference report, which narrowly passed the House last week by a vote of 215-212, will become law as soon as it is signed by President Bush.

In a huge victory for family farmers, environmentalists and other rural advocates, President Bush's nomination of Thomas Dorr's as the USDA undersecretary of Rural Development has been declared dead on arrival. 

Dorr, a long- time advocate of factory farming and corporate agriculture had been awaiting review of his nomination by the Senate Agriculture committee for over a year. Yesterday that committee voted to send Dorr's nomination to the full Senate without a recommendation. 

"There are not the votes here for him. That's the end of it," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa. In a long, blistering statement to the committee, Harkin said Dorr was unfit for the USDA job, both because of his violations of farm subsidy rules as well as evidence that he was insensitive to the needs of rural areas and minorities.

Though the message seemed emphatic, according to the Congressional Dailey, a USDA official said "the Bush administration wasn't giving up on his nomination.

On Thursday the Senate Agriculture Committee postponed vote on a disaster assistance package until after the August Congressional recess. The package, totaling roughly $5 billion, would be directed to US farmers and ranchers for disaster assistance relief.

According to the Congressional Quarterly Midday update, Senate Committee members agreed the assistance was necessary but could not agree on where the money would come from. Additionally, Republican Senators and the White house are demanding cuts in next years payments to offset the cost of this years disaster relief.

The update quoted Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, saying, "We are going to have to pass an assistance package, period, (but) "I don't know if an assistance package can pass without offsets." Committee chairman Sen. Tom Harkin says he has enough votes to pass the package but is waiting to "have a better consensus among senators."

4. CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU PLUMPS FOR FACTORY FARMS

The Environmental Protection Agency moved last week to end a 25- year policy that allowed farmers in California to be exempt from the provisions of the Clean Air Act. But the California Farm Bureau has filed suit to retain the exemption, despite the fact that failure of large farms to control their emissions may be contributing to some of the air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley, which is among the smoggiest areas in the country. The Farm Bureau has filed suit asking for a three-year extension of the exemption while farm emissions are studied, and has expressed fears that small farmers would face burdensome regulation. But EarthJustice Legal Defense Foundation, which last May won its lawsuit seeking to end the exemption, contends that much of the emissions are coming from large animal feeding operations that can afford to put the necessary controls in place.

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