Congress extends farm bill; Bush will sign

Mar. 14--Congress has extended the current farm bill for another month as it continues talks to craft an acceptable bill.

Lawmakers and the White House have not been able to agree on how to pay for the five-year, $286 billion legislation passed by both chambers last year. The Bush administration has threatened to veto both versions of the bill, saying it is too expensive.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said there has been progress in negotiations with Senate and House members on a new farm bill and that he was confident it could be resolved in a few more weeks.

The negotiators are seeking an agreement on $10 billion in new funding.

"Where does the money come from" is the critical question, he said, adding that the administration has objected to its funding proposals so far.

The House and Senate pushed the expiration of current farm law, signed by Presdiendt Bush in 2002, from March 15 to April 18. The law originally expired Sept. 30 and has been repeatedly extended.

Members were hoping to have agreement on the legislation before Congress heads home for a two-week recess at the end of this week, but progress has been slow.

Bush, in a statement released Thursday, said he will sign the extension. But he also warned that Congress will need to come up with a new bill by April 18 or he will call for a one-year extension of the existing farm bill.

"While long-term extension of current law is not the desired outcome, I believe the government has a responsibility to provide America's farmers and ranchers with a timely and predictable farm program -- not multiple short-term extensions of current law," Bush said. "Without a predictable policy, agriculture producers will be unable to make sound business decisions with respect to this year's crop." Bush said he is "eager" to sign a bill that provides a safety net for farmers, includes significant farm program reforms similar to the administration's farm bill proposal, and does not include tax increases.

An amendment to allow a hard cap of $250,000 on the amount of farm payments an individual can receive passed the Senate Budget Committee on March 6. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the amendment with Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.

"The farm bills that passed the House and Senate have loopholes that make the farm payment system worse than what we operate under now. So, despite the fact that we're in the middle of conference negotiations, I'm looking for ways to address the problems that weren't taken care of," Grassley said. "The majority of the Senate gave its support to payment limits during the farm bill, so it seems only right to keep pushing for passage." The amendment would save $641 million over five years and $1.401 billion over 10 years. The amendment also specifies that the savings be applied to nutrition.

*