Congress Extends 2007 Farm Bill
Deadline, Again.
Will the 2007 Farm Bill ever become law? If everything had gone on schedule, the previous Farm Bill, which became law in May of 2002 would have expired when it was supposed to on September 30th, 2007, just in time for the 2007 bill to become law. The Senate, however, did not actually complete their version of the bill until December. Congress had to extend the 2002 bill until March 15th, 2008 to allow time for the Farm Bill Conference Committee process to be completed.
Now, the 2007 Farm Bill is stalled yet again, this time in a joint House-Senate Conference Committee, while leaders in Congress fight over how to fund it. When it became apparent that the 2007 bill would not be complete before the new March 15th deadline, Congress extended the 2002 law yet again, this time until April 18th, 2008, and then left for a 2 week recess on March 17th.
Tentative Funding Deal Causes Disputes
A few days into recess, Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committee announced they reached a mutually agreed upon funding framework. The framework was immediately met with strong opposition from the Senate Finance Committee Chair, who stated that the proposal was “dead on arrival” in his mind, because his priority program (permanent “disaster” payments) did not receive the funding amount he wanted.
When members get back from recess, resolving the disagreement over the funding framework will likely be the first thing they take up. Assuming they are able to come up with a satisfactory agreement, they will still have plenty of work to do to meet the April 18th deadline. There may be some room to further extend the 2002 Farm Bill expiration date a few more weeks, but a one-year or two-year extension will become likely as the 2008 Presidential election and crop planting seasons will be in full swing.
Still Time to Take Action!
With pressure mounting just to finish the Farm Bill at all costs, our priorities could easily get lost in the scramble. OFRF, with your help, is pushing to make sure the wins we have fought so hard for over this past year will not get lost in the final weeks of deliberations. Please continue to contact your Members of Congress and urge support for organic farming programs in the Farm Bill! Read our Farm Bill Action Alert for talking points and contact info for Congress. For more details on the Farm Bill, read our most recent Farm Bill update.
Agriculture Appropriations Update – Funding Cuts to Organic Research Proposed!
Last week we sent you an alert urging you to contact your Members of Congress in support of organic agriculture priorities during the 2009 Budget process. Many of you wrote back to tell us you contacted your Members of Congress which we greatly appreciate. OFRF also submitted testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, which you can read on our website. (hyperlink)
President's Budget Eliminates Organic Research Projects
The President sent his proposed 2009 budget to Congress at the beginning of February. Among our concerns with his budget proposal are his drastic cuts to the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) to the tune of $84 million, or 7.5%, and the elimination of three ARS units with organic research projects. These projects are the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research at University Park, PA; the Invasive Weed Management Research at Urbana, IL; and the New England Plant Soil and Water Research at Orono, ME.
Support Letters Needed!
If you live in Maine, Illinois, or Pennsylvania and want to get more involved in protecting these ARS units from being eliminated, please contact Tracy Lerman, Policy Program Assistant, immediately at tracy@ofrf.org or (831) 426-6606, x 108. We will keep you posted on further developments with the agriculture appropriations process in the coming weeks, and we’ll let you know when to contact your Members of Congress on these issues.
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