Agricultural News
Budget Cuts Are the New Reality- Including Cuts to Ag Spending
Thu, 11 Nov 2010 5:53:34 CST
Cutting Federal spending will be a part of almost every decision made by Congress in the next couple of years- so predicts Mary Kay Thatcher of the American Farm Bureau. That will likely include having to make do on fewer Federal dollars for farm programs when the next Farm Bill is written in either 2011 or 2012. Thatcher says that Farm Bureau members support the idea of reducing Federal spending in general- but many have a disconnect when it comes to including farm programs in that concept.
Thatcher made her comments at an opening policy session of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in Kansas City on Wednesday morning. Later on Wednesday, we got word that a "first draft" of a defiicit reduction plan was issued by the White House Commission on Deficit Reduction. That Commission is made up of 17 members- and includes among others, Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn as well as North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad. Conrad has been mulling his priorities in the Senate for 2011 and 2012 in recent days, after Blanche Lincoln lost her reelection bid on November 2nd. Conrad is currently chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, but has been thinking about giving up that job and taking the Chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Other panel members in that policy session in Kansas City agreed that Senator Conrad would be more useful to agricultural interests by staying in the Senate Budget Chairmanship.(Those panel members included Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union, Chuck Hassellbrook of and Colin Woodall of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.)
Among the many areas of spending that the Commission has identified in their draft report is Agriculture. The Commission says that $3 billion in savings can be had on an annual basis starting in Fiscal Year 2015, with the report offering these details of the proposal:
"Reduce farm subsidies by $3 billion per year by reducing direct payments and other subsidies, Conservation Security Program funding, and funding for the Market Access Program."
Click here to review the entire fdraft report from the White House Commission on Deficit Reduction
We have an audio report with comments that were offered on Wednesday by AFBF Lobbyist Mary Kay Thatcher- click on the LISTEN BAR below to listen to our report.
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