Senate Ag Bill Slashes Sustainable Farming Programs

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Senate Ag Bill Slashes Sustainable Farming Programs While Maintaining Most Subsidies for Big Farms

From: http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/dat
a/1129753185623.xml&catref=ag1001

Ag Committee votes for $3 billion in cuts to ag spending
 
Agriculture Online News
 
10/19/2005, 3:12 PM CDT
 
Three billion dollars over the next five years. That's the amount of the cut to the 2006 Agriculture Budget the Ag Committee is required to report under a new Congressional budget resolution approved today by an 11-9 vote. During a mark-up today, voting came down in favor of the plan, proposed by Ag Committee chairman Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). $196 million in savings would be realized in fiscal year 2006.

The move, Chambliss said, was taken rather than leave the budget cuts to the choice of the Budget Committee or any Senator when the Senate considers the budget reconciliation package. Chambliss reportedly advised members of the Committee, "I assure you that those changes would most likely not be in the best interests of American agriculture."

The Agriculture Committee is one of eight Senate authorizing committees instructed under this year's budget resolution to reduce mandatory spending by $34.7 billion over the next five years.

Chambliss noted that the Committee-adopted plan achieves savings from farm commodity programs, but leaves the structure of the farm program created in the 2002 Farm Bill unchanged. Agricultural research programs remain intact, recognizing past funding levels. Also, in preparing for writing the 2007 Farm Bill, the Committee bill preserves budgetary resources, the "baseline," for the upcoming farm bill debate by generally suspending spending reductions in fiscal year 2011.
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[HereSince1628]

1. Just as I predicted...

But the good news is that recent attacks on folks with home mortgages will help Dems in the suburbs.

This attack trickles down to small farmers who actually appreciate the dangers of unsustaibable practices. So maybe the Dems get to make some gains in farm country as well.