T h e I l l I n O I s Fa R M Bureau Board of Directors last week established national priorities for the organization. ..............2
IT Was an aWaRD-WInnIng week for Dixon far mer Katie Pratt as she was selected to be a national ag spokesman. ........3
ThIs yOung laDy doesn’t know it, but her delivery meant a great deal of money for a rural Western Illinois hospital. ..............5
Monday, January 28, 2013
Two sections Volume 41, No. 4
Reid reboots Senate proposal
How does farm bill fit into the fiscal flurry?
BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
With the threat of another farm bill extension and potentially shrinking federal ag funding, Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson maintains Illinois farmers must help “get this debate teed up as soon as possible.” Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) made a key move toward rebooting the debate, reintroducing farm legislation approved by the Senate last year. At the same time, House Speaker John Boehner (ROhio) said the House would not agree to a long-term increase in the federal debt ceiling without a significant deficit reduction deal. The Senate farm bill plan, which would eliminate direct payments, create a new revenue-based farm safety net program, and bolster crop insurance, offers about $25 billion in deficit savings over a 10-year period. Nelson reiterated IFB’s goal of passage of a farm bill by the August recess that would be, “awaiting the president’s signature or at least a (House-Senate) conference committee.” Congress has
extended 2008 farm bill provisions through Sept. 30. In an RFD/FarmWeek interview, Nelson largely rejected the notion that it is “back to square one” in the farm bill debate. But he stressed that amid a politicized and potentially competitive fiscal/spending debate, “We need to have a strategy and a full-court press to make this happen. “If we learned one lesson from the first round of debate, it’s that we need to put pressure on our legislators nationwide to get this done,” Nelson said. Nelson said he believes Congress can come to an agreement over the debt ceiling, but he warned of potential “pushback” as the current continuing budget resolution expires and automatic budget “sequestration” debate kicks in in March. Washington policy consultant Rob Bradner suggested the threat of severe March 1 sequester cuts in current fiscal
2013 spending could serve as “an action-forcing event” that would spur Congress to address spending cuts “in a more reasonable way.” Nelson stressed ag committees already have offered up “significant budget savings” — in the case of the
‘We need to have a strategy and a full-court press to make this happen.’ — Philip Nelson President, Illinois Farm Bureau
House, a proposed $33 billion in ag cuts. Bradner’s partner, Rich Gold, suggested the “logical” option to lock in those numbers in sequester debate would be for ag lawmakers to “formally take credit” for savings in a budget rec-
onciliation process. “That, of course, assumes we get there,” Gold nonetheless told FarmWeek during a webinar last week on the fiscal debate. “But it’s easier to do the farm bill in reconciliation, where you’re voting on this big package and it’s not hanging out there on its own.” In any event, Gold warned “it’s very important to be at the table or on the menu” as lawmakers eye savings in various program areas. Food and nutrition spending, 75 to 80 percent of the current ag budget, largely accounts for the current gap between House and Senateproposed savings, and Nelson stressed “we have to deal with that.” Another divide between the Senate and the House is the House Ag Committee’s proposal to retain price protections for southern producers along with new, Senate-style revenue support. Recognizing cross-regional
and cross commodity concerns, IFB recently won American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) support for policy promoting “a choice of program options” for farmers. The selection of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) to replace Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) as Senate Ag Committee ranking Republican may “bring a different tilt” to House-Senate debate, Nelson said. As a result, Gold said he anticipates “some rejiggering of the Senate role in the farm bill.” “He (Cochran) will bring the southern philosophical difference to the table,” Nelson said. “Does that mean we’re going to look at a STAX (cotton revenue) program like the Senate did the first time around? Will there be a push for target prices or reference prices, from a southern perspective? “We’re going to have to reconcile things a little bit. The flexibility we’ve put into AFBF policy is important as we go through that process.”
Does Obama climate call signal renewed debate?
The political/regulatory environment could heat up in the wake of President Obama’s inaugural call for a redoubling of efforts to rein in “climate change.” Obama’s second-term inaugural address drew mingled applause and anxiety from ag interests. Biofuels groups including the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy hailed Obama’s commitment to pursue “the path toward sustainPresident Barack able energy sources.” Obama However, his stated intention to “respond to the threat of climate change” raised concerns about a possible revival of “cap-and-trade” or similar regulatory/tax proposals aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. And Senate Environment Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) spurred speculation that the administration itself
could move to direct the climate issue. When asked about possible climate measures, Boxer argued “there doesn’t have to be a bill,” touting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency authority to tighten controls on the transportation, utility, and industrial sectors under the federal Clean Air Act. In 2008, Obama announced his goal of establishing an emissions trading system and new GHG limits. But Congress abandoned House-approved cap-and-trade proposals amid opposition from Illinois Farm Bureau and others worried about the impact of restrictions on future production and energy and input costs. IFB President Philip Nelson told FarmWeek “it’s premature to judge what buttons (lawmakers or regulators) are going to push.” He nonetheless noted both Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, remain interested in the debate. “We’re ready for the debate — we had it teed up the last time,” Nelson recalled. In the wake of Obama’s announce-
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
ment, cap-and-trade champions Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) announced a new House-Senate climate task force. “ We’re calling on the president to develop a plan for the administration to take action without Congress,” Waxman stated. American Farm Bureau Federation regulatory specialist Paul Schlegel suggested the issue could creep into the debate on the deficit via proposals for a “carbon tax” on greenhouse emitters to raise federal revenues. Schlegel noted 2014 will be an election year: “Forget anything happening.” After that, Obama’s lame duck status would limit his clout, and thus any major congressional climate activity likely would emerge this year, he said. “It’s speculative at this point to gauge how this could play out,” Schlegel told FarmWeek, however. “If the economy is doing as meagerly as it is now, why would you slap a carbon tax on a carbon-based economy?” — Martin Ross
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org