1. NUTRITION TITLE PASSES ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

The Nutrition Title of Senator Harkin's Farm bill passed unanimously on Wednesday afternoon, after an alternate proposal offered by Senator Lugar failed 9-12. Senator Harkin's title simplifies the eligibility requirements and application process, bringing them in line with the requirements for welfare and Medicaid. His proposal also increases food stamp spending by $6.2 billion over 10 years (above the 10-year baseline of $240 billion).

Senator Lugar's proposal would have added $4 billion more than Harkin's bill, but failed when Helms (NC), Hutchinson (AR) and all Democrats except Wellstone (MN) voted against it.

2. CONSERVATION TITLE COMPROMISE PASSES WITH BAD EQIP LANGUAGE

Legislative staffers worked late into the night to hammer out a compromise Conservation Title that passed unanimously on Thursday morning. The bipartisan conservation amendment that was adopted by the Committee today retains many of the good features of Chairman Harkin's original proposal: it contains a conservation security program to reward farmers for stewardship practices on their working lands, adds 250,000 acres per year to the Wetlands Reserve Program, establishes a Grasslands Reserve Program and retains a (somewhat weakened) long-term and permanent easements program under the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. Unfortunately, the title was marred by the lifting of the CAFO eligibility caps under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. This move, a clear capitulation to the factory farms, transforms a good environmental program into a subsidy cash cow for mega-operations to receive huge sums of money to construct unsafe and unsanitary manure handling lagoons. The new EQIP is still somewhat better than the House provision in that it requires a nutrient management plan and closes some of the loopholes to prevent operations from receiving multiple payments.  

Please call your Senators (Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121) and ask them to vote to reinstate CAFO caps when the Farm Bill comes to the Senate Floor!

3. LEAHY AND REID INTRODUCE ALTERNATE CONSERVATION TITLE

An alternate conservation title, The Conservation Assistance and Regional Equity Act of 2001, was introduced today by Senators Leahy and Reid. Their bill, which many in the environmental community are endorsing strongly, would retain the EQIP caps and also provide additional funding for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Farmland Protection Program, and other important programs. The Leahy-Reid proposal also contains a version of the Conservation Security Program, demonstrating that they have listened to the family farm and sustainable agriculture communities, in addition to conservation groups and sportsmen. More information on the Conservation Assistance and Regional Equity Act is available at http://reid.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=179591

AMTA payments and loan rates were the topics of the day as the Senate Agriculture Committee debated the Commodity Title of the Farm Bill. Republicans on the Committee offered a proposal that would have kept loan rates the same, increased AMTA payments, and initiated farmer savings accounts. This measure failed on a party line vote, with Lugar abstaining. The Committee then passed a measure that raises loan rates and gradually lowers AMTA payments. This proposal was based on Harkin's original Commodity title, but adds $11 billion in peanut, sugar and dairy programs. It passed by a nearly party-line vote, with all Democrats and Hutchinson (AR) voting in favor. Neither proposal provides for supply management or reserves, and the final commodity title will likely exceed budget constraints. A proposal offered by Senator Dayton, which provided even higher loan rates and was supported by National Farmers Union, also failed. The Senate also passed miscellaneous provisions before reporting the entire bill. Provisions adopted here include an organic certification cost-share program and mandatory country-of-origin labeling for produce and meats.

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