By Rhonda Garrison
Congress is debating a new budget on the heels of the White House proposing new limits on prevented planting payments in its Fiscal Year 2016 budget. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says there is always a risk that if you open any part of the farm bill – you open all of it – but the memory of the struggle to get the farm bill done should be enough to keep the farm bill off limits.
The debate over prevented plantings is just one part of the bigger fight over agricultural subsidies. Farm state lawmakers contend growers need to be protected from forces beyond their control – but opponents say taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for expensive subsidies for big businesses that don’t need it…
“Whether they tinker around the edges depends on what commands they are given relative to the budget, in the past they haven’t reopened the big programs, they just say that ag can find a percent here or there. Six years of that it accumulates. It begins to take its toll. This department does really good work and we don’t want to jeopardize that.”
Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow told farm broadcasters that too much work had gone into the farm bill to reopen the legislation:
“The bottom line is we don’t want to open up this farm bill. We did what every committee has been asked to do- which is evaluate every program, elimate things that don’t work and cut down on duplication and cut costs. We are the only committee that cut more than the requirement under sequestration. When others step up and cut what we have then its appropriate to come back to agriculture.”
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