The House is set to vote next week on a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill, coupled with an extension of disaster aid for livestock producers. Earlier this month the House Agriculture Committee passed a five-year bill yet it still hasn’t been brought to the floor for a vote.
TheHill.com reports committee members have resisted a one-year extension, but Ranking Member Collin Peterson said he would support it if it would lead to a House-Senate conference committee on a larger bill. Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow has also announced her support. Frank Lucas, Chairman of the House Ag Committee says, “It is critical that we provide certainty to our producers and address the devastating drought conditions that are affecting most of the country.”
The text of the farm bill is posted to the Rules Committee website. It states it would extend various programs that expired in 2011 like the Livestock Indemnity Payments; Livestock Forage Disaster Programs; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP); along with the Tree Assistance Program.
In order to pay for the programs, some environmental programs would be capped and direct subsidy payments to farmers would be scaled back.
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