Progress Expected on Farm Bill

Prairie Farmer reports that U.S. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) is confident that House and Senate leaders will be able to work out their differences when Congress reconvenes next month. Chairman Peterson says meetings about the bill between House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and himself have been positive.

However, the President Bush has threatened to veto the bill citing a lack of reform, particularly a cap on adjusted gross income. The Chairman is willing to work with Bush on the Farm Bill, but says the proposed cap of $200,000 is unrealistic.

According to Prairie Farmer: “Peterson says it's Congress' job to write the farm bill, and that the White House shouldn't be proposing farm bills in the first place. He says that the original White House proposal was brought before the House Ag Committee and garnered no votes.”