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Latest Update:
While progress on enacting a Farm Bill has
been underway in recent days, the Senate and
House passed a 30 day extension of the Farm
Bill on Wednesday, giving lawmakers in both
chambers more time to negotiate a deal to
fund the bill in full. President Bush
issued a statement today calling upon
Congress to extend the Farm Bill for one
year if the House and Senate can not reach
agreement by the April 18 deadline.
Congress will soon be embarking on a two
week recess, which gives network members a
prime opportunity to reach out to their
Members in support of quick passage of a
strong nutrition title in the final Farm
Bill. A2H Farm Team members recently
received an email, asking them to again
contact their legislators with a
personalized letter; an updated letter is
also currently posted on the
Hunger Action Center. Please
keep the pressure on!
Background:
Congressional farm leaders and the Bush
administration are about $4 billion apart on
offsets to pay for the $10 billion increase
in the new farm bill. According to reports,
the chairmen and ranking members of the
House and Senate Agriculture committees are
facing a $4 billion gap between demands for
increased spending in the bill and the
amount of money available. The permanent
farm disaster program promoted by Senator
Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Senate Finance
Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) remains an issue
within Congress and the administration.
Agriculture Secretary Schafer has indicated
his willingness to support the disaster
program will depend on the overall level of
spending in the bill. Two key meetings were
scheduled this week --. House Agriculture
Committee Collin Peterson (D-MN) and House
Agriculture Committee ranking member Bob
Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senate Agriculture
Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and ranking
member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) are scheduled
to meet in the Capitol to discuss
allocations by title. Secretary Schafer has
also stated that USDA and White House
officials are scheduled to discuss where the
administration stands on the bill at this
point.
SPREAD THE WORD
Be sure to spread the word with friends,
family, co-workers and others. You can
simply forward this email to other people,
or you can visit the “tell a friend” page on
the Hunger Action Center
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