NACIA Farm Bill Update -- Outlook for Conference Unclear   
1/16/08

Washington is still pretty quiet, but will start increasing in activity soon, as the Members of the House returned last night, and the Senate is expected back next week.

That being said, not much has changed on the Farm Bill front since last week. While rumors claim that the Conference will begin meeting on January 21, and will finish by the first week of February, it seems as though getting a final Farm Bill continues to be a rather difficult task to accomplish.  It seems unlikely due to the drafting difficulties, the funding problems, and the veto threat that face the Farm Bill.

On the House side, we had the opportunity to meet with Chairman Peterson last week. He continues to work to accomplish a final bill, has several ideas on how to achieve that, but is faced with a multitude of challenges. He has met with the Administration on several occasions to address the concerns that are prompting the veto threat, but the success of those meetings is yet to be determined. It is our understanding that this week, he and Ranking Member Goodlatte will meet again with USDA.

The Administration has publicly reiterated its stance that the current forms of both the House and the Senate bills are subject to a veto because of the methods employed to obtain revenue and other provisions viewed as bad policy. In a Tuesday meeting, Acting Secretary Chuck Connor and two White House Advisors specifically listed the tax provisions, nutrition funding, budget gimmicks, and the absence of farm policy reforms such as pay cap reform and marketing loan program changes as reasons for a veto. They also emphasized through pointing out previous vetoes such as SCHIP and some appropriations bills that this was more than a threat, and that the President would veto the Farm Bill unless changes were made.

On the Senate Side, Chairman Harkin has been out of the country, and the Senate does not reconvene until next week. We have been told that the Senate bill, despite being publicly posted, is still not “final.” The Senate is also responsible for the “side-by-side,” a document that compares the differing provisions in the House and Senate bills. Work has started on that, along with staff-level meetings, but the level of substance in these meetings is not clear.   

Predicting exactly what will happen next would be unwise, as Congress could, despite the many challenges, pull off a Conference and get a bill to the President. They could do that and have the bill be vetoed, or it could possibly come to the President in an acceptable form. The 2002 Farm Bill could be extended. At this point it is too soon to tell, but we will continue to monitor the situation and let you know further developments as they occur.  

As we have mentioned before, there are provisions in each bill that have the potential to damage the crop insurance program, so we will continue to advocate for our issues as agents and for the strength of the crop insurance program to continue to provide a safety net to our nation’s farmers and ranchers.

Lastly, we would encourage you to start the New Year right and to pay your 2008 NACIA dues, which you can now do online. 

As always, if you have any questions or need anything, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Brent W. Gattis
NACIA Washington Representative