From Debbie Neustadt With Congress coming back from recess, I thought I would recap where the Farm Bill is and what/who the players are. The Combest Bill passed out of committee before the recess. I have posted the problems with the bill. The Sierra Club is working on a letter to congress and once it is finalized I will post it. This letter explains in detail what we don't like about the house bill. Representative Kind and Gilgrest have offered an alternative that is called the Working Lands Bill. The Sierra Club supports this bill. The Conservation Security Act, which the Sierra Club supports has also been introduced but is opposed by House Ag leadership. The Conservation Security Act has a better chance in the Senate where its sponsor, Senator Harkin is the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The following is an edited version of an article from Feedstuffs Magazine regarding the Farm Bill. Feedstuffs Magazine Inside Washington By SALLY SCHUFF Feedstuffs Washington Editor September 3, 2001 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congress returns to Washington this week from its August recess, and despite all the rhetoric about moving defense and education spending bills first, watch for a fast-moving agenda on several agricultural issues. Budget pressure will push action on the new farm bill -- maybe. Watch for a major attempt on the floor to drastically increase spending -- shifting funds from commodity programs -- for conservation payments to farmers. The bill to watch is HR 2375, the Working Lands Stewardship Act, proposed by Reps. Ron Kind (D., Wis.) from the Upper Mississippi region and Wayne Gilchrest (R., Md.) from the Chesapeake Bay region. Their bill seeks more than $6 billion in annual incentive payments to farmers to reduce polluted run-off and restore wildlife habitat along U.S. waterways. At last count, it had more than 120 co-sponsors, many from coastal states with substantial political clout, and the support of several environmental groups -- including the Environmental Defense and American Rivers. Farm bill action in the Senate Agriculture Committee is expected quickly. There, the big question will also be a policy debate on status-quo commodity payments versus a conservation payment agenda. Conservation payments have support from lawmakers whose states don’t benefit from the billions of dollars that currently only go to growers of program commodity crops. They see conservation payments as a more equitable way to dispense farm payments while buying environmental benefits. Conservation payments are also classified as "green box" payments for WTO purposes and would help the U.S. comply with its subsidy reduction commitments. However, taking dollars from states with heavy commodity programs payments and spreading them to other regions would essentially amount to a redistribution of wealth from farm programs and will be hazardous politically, any way you look at it. It’s going to be a long fall. Copyright 2001, The Miller Publishing Company, a company of Rural Press Ltd. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]