Page 75 - Fall2012

Legislative Updates

POLICY UPDATE: FARM BILL AND GMOS
By Judith McGeary, Esq.

As many people predicted, it’s looking more House would have to vote on the final compro-
and more likely that the 2012 Farm Bill will actu- mise, this messy process would skip the step
ally be the 2013 Farm Bill. But the congressional where members of the House who are not on the
saga is not yet done for the year. Agriculture Committee would have a chance to
amend the bill. Congress might also pass a short-
STALLED BILL term extension, just long enough to get past the
The Senate passed its version of the Farm election, and take the Farm Bill up during a lame
Bill in June, and the House Agriculture Com- duck session.
mittee passed its version of the bill in mid-July.
The next step in a normal process would be for FARM BILL ISSUES
the full House to vote on the committee version, Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that
and then for the House and Senate to choose a should be amended in the House agriculture
conference committee to reconcile their versions committee version. From gutting what little
of the bill. However, with the election looming, regulation currently exists for genetically engi-
the House leadership decided to avoid holding neered crops, to effectively abandoning country-
a vote on the floor of the House in July. For the of-origin labeling, the House bill is an ugly mess.
leadership, the problem was that the House might How many of these flaws could get fixed on the
have actually voted down the bill, not to mention House floor or during conference committee is
the prospect of ugly fights over amendments. far from clear.
Some Democrats will oppose the bill because Nonetheless, several sustainable agriculture

of the deep cuts it makes in nutrition programs organizations are pushing hard for Congress to Judith McGeary
like SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) and pass a Farm Bill this year. The reason is that is the Austin, Texas
some conservative Republicans will oppose it an extension of the 2008 Farm Bill would not chapter leader, an
attorney and
because those cuts aren’t deeper. cover several programs for beginning farmers, small farmer in
The current Farm Bill (passed in 2008) does conservation and organic production, so these Austin, and the
not expire until September 30th, so it is theoreti- programs would lapse completely. These orga- executive director of
cally possible for Congress to finish this process nizations have prioritized saving these programs the Farm and Ranch
and pass a new bill when they come back into over almost every other consideration. Freedom Alliance.
session in September. Alternatively, the “normal” This year’s widespread drought adds an- She has a B.S. in
approach would be to pass a one-year extension other layer of public and political pressure to the biology from
to the 2008 Farm Bill, and let the next Congress equation. The Farm Bill contains many of the Stanford University
and a J.D. from the
argue it out. programs designed to aid farmers and ranchers University of Texas
But other, more unusual, proposals have also in a disaster. The Democratic leadership of the at Austin. She and
been floated in order to enable the Farm Bill to Senate is arguing that the best way to address the her husband
pass this year without members of the House drought is to pass a full Farm Bill that includes run a small
being able to vote on amendments. For instance, disaster programs. The House’s approach, in grass-based farm
the House could pass a one-year extension of the contrast, was to pass a stand-alone bill in July with sheep, cattle,
Farm Bill, or some other simple shell bill, but that just dealt with disaster assistance. The House horses, and poultry.
the conference committee would then develop a bill dealt mostly with programs to provide assis- For more
information go to
bill based on compromises between the Senate tance to livestock producers who are not usually www.farmandranch-
version and the House Agriculture Committee’s covered by crop insurance, and paid for it by freedom.org or
version of the full Farm Bill. Although the full cutting conservation programs. When Congress call (254) 697-2661.

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