Farm Bill Set for Tough Conference in January (12/21/2007)

Last week, the Senate voted to pass the 2007 Farm Bill by a vote of 79-14. Despite the overwhelming majority vote, the Senate bill still has at least one more hurdle before it becomes law. The House passed their own bill on July 27th by a vote of 231-191. Since the Senate was so late in passing their bill, the two sides will not go to conference until January, leaving Congressional staffers ample time to work out the considerable differences between the two versions of the bill. The two versions differ on many issues, including farm subsidies, commodity programs, and school nutrition.

Currently, the Senate version expands the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) into every state. This program provides fresh fruits and vegetables for public school children, which is part of a continuing national effort to fight childhood obesity. The bill directs $225 million for the program in fiscal year 2008, if the funding is available. From there, it calls for annual appropriations to dictate the spending levels. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) claims it will lead to about $1.1 billion over five years. Each year, each of the 50 states will receive 1% of the available funds for the program, with the remaining funds allocated based on states’ proportion of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program.

State educational agencies (SEAs) are directed to allocate the funds to schools where at least 50% of their students are eligible for free or reduce price lunches. Per student spending at an individual school must be between $50 and $75. If there is an insufficient number of schools that meet the 50% requirement, SEAs are directed to give priority to schools with higher proportions of students eligible for free or reduced price lunches. SEAs are also directed to give priority to schools that combine efforts under the FFVP program with additional nutrition and healthy living programs.

The House bill authorizes $70 million for expanding the FFVP into 35 schools in each state. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) would then distribute additional funds, as necessary, to states based on population. Unlike the Senate version, the House funding is fully authorized and is not contingent on available funds. However, in both versions, actual annual funding is subject to the politics of the appropriations process. The House version also reserves 5% of the state grant for state administrative uses. The Senate bill does not provide for administration.

While there is no date currently set for the conference, lawmakers will want to move quickly to pass the bill, which is the single most important bill to the farming and agricultural community. Both the House and the Senate are slated to come back from the Holiday recess on Tuesday, January 15. For Sen. Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, there is no other issue that would take precedence over finishing the overdue Farm Bill. As such, staffers will likely continue to work behind the scenes, making sure that conferees meet with at least a general compromise between the two bills.

Resources:
Catharine Richert, “Farm Bill Conferees Face Potentially Tough Bargaining on Taxes, Subsidies,” CQ Today, December 14, 2007.
Tom Harkin, http://harkin.senate.gov/
Author: SAS