NEWS RELEASE
April 27, 2012
For more information:Megan Ritter, 317-692-7833
mritter@infarmbureau.org
Farm Bureau commends ag committee’s efforts
After the SenateAgriculture Committee passed a farm bill on April 26, Indiana Farm Bureaucommended the committee for its bipartisan efforts to provide a safety net forAmerican farmers.
The 900-page draftbill submitted on April 20 by committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.,and Ranking Member Pat Roberts, R-Kan., was scored by the Congressional BudgetOffice on Tuesday at saving a little more than $26 billion rather than the $23 billionthey were targeting.
By yesterday,Stabenow said the bill, which had changed in subsequent days, would save $24.7billion over 10 years under the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate.
“Commodityprograms showed $17.6 billion in cuts,” Stabenow said. “That was before somechanges made Thursday that added costs back into the bill, includingre-inserting $800 million in mandatory spending for various renewable energyprograms.”
The nutrition andconservation titles contribute $4 billion and $6 billion, respectively, to theadditional reductions.
“We appreciate theefforts made by the Senate Agriculture Committee to move forward withbipartisan legislation that creates a strong framework for ensuring a workablesafety net for agriculture and rural families,” said Megan Ritter, Indiana FarmBureau national government relations program coordinator.
Farm Bureau willcontinue to work with the Senate and House to ensure the policy provides thebest safety-net for all farmers, while moving forward on an aggressive timelineto ensure completion of the bill this year. For the latest updates go to www.fb.org/index.php?action=newsroom.home.
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