Agricultural News
Environmental Group Applauds Work of House and Senate Ag Leadership on Farm Bill Efforts for Super Committee
Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:57:04 CST
Sara Hopper, the Agricultural Policy Director with the Environmental Defense Fund, released the following statement following word of the collapse of the Super Committee efforts to find $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, which means efforts to include a 2012 Farm Bill as a part of the Super Committee proposal have also failed.
"In case you missed it: although the congressional debt reduction "Supercommittee" announced today that it has failed to reach agreement on a government-wide plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the budget, leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on a proposal to shave $23 billion from federal food and agricultural programs over the next 10 years.
"While this agreement included significant savings from USDA's voluntary conservation programs, and any cuts to these programs are painful, leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees worked in a bipartisan way to minimize the negative impact of the cuts by also including in their agreement certain policy changes that would have improved the effectiveness of conservation programs.
"While the failure of the Supercommittee means that the agreement reached by House and Senate agriculture committee leaders will not advance now, from EDF's perspective the work that leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees did over the past few months demonstrates a continuing strong commitment to conservation in the face of significant budget pressures. That commitment is something we expect will carry forward into next year and beyond.
"Early next year, the House and Senate agriculture committees will begin work on the 2012 farm bill. At a time when increasing global demand for food is intensifying pressure on America's land and water resources, it is more critical now than ever to maintain and strengthen conservation programs, which help farmers, ranchers and private forest landowners produce cleaner water and air and improve habitat for wildlife. EDF looks forward to working with House and Senate agriculture committee leaders to build on the work they have done over the past few months to ensure that these programs are strengthened and improved in the next farm bill."
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