Apparently in reaction to rumors that they are trying to write a farm bill with the Bush administration and cut the Senate out of the action, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and ranking member Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., plan to send farm leaders an open letter Sunday explaining that they expect the Senate to play a role in the farm bill conference report proposal they are working on.
The letter also says they do not think it is a good idea to send President Bush a bill that might be vetoed and they want the bill to be passed before the expiration of the current extension of the 2002 farm bill on March 15. DTN obtained a copy of the letter.
Peterson said Friday he wants to offer the Senate a farm bill proposal next Wednesday. The House and the Senate each passed farm bill proposals last year, but the Bush administration has threatened to veto a final bill if it is similar to either the House or Senate bill and work on the conference report has been slow.
"Based on conversations that we've had with different groups in recent days, we understand that there is a lot of concern, based largely on erroneus reports about where we stand with the farm bill," Peterson and Goodlatte wrote in an "open letter to the farm community" dated Feb. 9. "What we have been trying to do for the past several weeks is to arrive at a bill that can pass Congress with bipartisan support and that we believe the President will sign. What we will propose is a starting place an we want to work with the Senate to craft a final bill that can pass both chambers and that the President will sign."
Aides to some senators have noted that House leaders worked with the Bush administration to craft an economic stimulus package that the Senate largely had to accept and said they fear House and administration negotiators will do the same thing on the farm bill. While the House and Senate bills do not have major differences on agricultural policy, the House bill does not contain a permanent disaster package or the large scale average crop revenue program option. There are also differences in funding for many programs.
Peterson and Goodlatte said they want "to outline a framework that is acceptable to the House, Senate and administration before the President's Day recess in order to pass a farm bill before the expiration of the current law on March 15."
In one sentence, Peterson and Goodlatte gave lobbyists some reason to believe they have reason to be apprehensive that the House leaders are planning a more modest bill than the lobbyists or the Senate have in mind.
"We do not believe that any strategy involving a veto will be good for the country," Peterson and Goodlatte wrote. "We encourage everyone involved in the process to look realistically at what can be accomplished. We know that this sense of realism will disappoint some people who wanted more out of the farm bill. We wanted to do more too, but reality tells us that the possibilities are limited."DTNAg
