Senate Committee Set for Farm Bill Markup

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, will finally hold their first markup of the 2007 Farm Bill on Wednesday, October 24. The Committee has delayed work on the bill, which Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) originally planned to mark up in September. Due to the hectic appropriations schedule, not to mention Harkin’s work as chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the Farm Bill has been constantly delayed. However, committee staff has worked behind the scenes on the various titles of the farm bill, working on the contentious issues in hopes of finding a compromise before the bill made it to the markup.

On Wednesday, October 17, Sen. Harkin gave an update on where his proposals stand. Harkins hopes to bring a bill to the Senate floor that includes $4.2 billion over 5 years to expand food and nutrition programs, as well as $1.5 billion in new monies to expand the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Program for school lunches. However, some staffers are worried that a lack of offsets will keep a majority of Senators from supporting new funding for nutrition programs. Meanwhile, debate continues over other, more contentious matters, such as where Harkin plans to get the new monies for his expansions.

Farmers currently get countercyclical payments when the price of a crop falls below a government-set national target. Sen. Harkin’s proposal would maintain that program but create another system that would be based on state price targets. Farmers could choose between this new subsidy or the traditional mix of farm supports. Sen. Harkin said it would free up about $3.5 billion to spend in other parts of the legislation, which is presently under tight budget constraints. The Farm Bureau, the country’s largest farming organization, is not pleased with the Chairman’s plans to use the savings to support nutrition, energy, conservation and fruit and vegetable programs. The Bureau wants the money to go towards strengthening other farm subsidies. Having the Bureau’s support could be critical to ensuring adequate support from Republican members of Congress.

However, in addition to Sen. Harkin’s claim that now is the time to invest in child nutrition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a report showing that the nation’s school food offerings are beginning to become more nutritious. According to the report, the number of schools serving French fries is down from 40% in 2000 to about 19% in 2006. The percentage of schools that sold cookies or other high-fat baked goods at fundraisers dropped from 67% to 54% during the same six-year period.

In nearly half of schools, students can select bottled water instead of sugary drinks from school vending machines or snack bars, up from nearly a third of schools in 2000. Public health officials are optimistic about the changes, but agree that more efforts are necessary to keep making public schools healthier. Sen. Harkin will likely cite such statistics and opinions as his justification for increasing funding for nutrition programs.

Resources:
“School Nutrition Improving, Report Finds,” Education Week, October 19, 2007.
Catharine Richert, “Farm Bureau, Harkin Disagree on How Subsidy Savings Should Be Spent,” CQ Today, October 18, 2007.
Author: SAS