Last week, the Senate narrowly passed the federal budget reconciliation bill.
In its final form, the budget measure will trim $2.7 billion from federal agricultural programs, while adding an additional $998 million spending to extend the Milk Income Loss Contract Program.
For the measure’s full details on agriculture, see this summary which was prepared by Jerry Hagstrom.
On Sunday, Des Moines Register reporter Philip Brasher reminded readers that the $2.7 billion was a long way from what the Bush administration had originally proposed back in February.
At that time, “The Bush administration proposed cuts in farm programs that would have totaled $9 billion over five years to help reduce the budget deficit,” Brasher said.
The bill passed on a very close 51-50 count, with Vice-President Cheney casting the tie breaking vote that pushed the measure over the top.
As can be expected on a close vote, some horse trading occurred to secure passage.
As Joel Havemann noted in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times, Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) withheld support for the budget measure until a provision was removed that “would have eliminated $30 million in subsidies for sugar beet growers, many of them in his home state.”
Some farm policy observers interpreted Sen. Coleman’s action as a way to make amends with some sugar beet growers in his state who were upset that he had supported the Central America Free Trade Agreement (C.A.F.T.A.). Generally speaking, sugar groups, including sugar beet growers, were opposed to C.A.F.T.A., which ultimately passed on a very close vote this past summer.
In any event, Sen. Coleman’s action was an example of the sway that the sugar industry maintains. As Andrew Martin pointed out in last week’s Chicago Tribune, “the industry gave about $3.2 million to federal candidates during the 2004 campaign.”
Keith Good writes The FarmPolicy.com News Summary, an Email newsletter containing a summary of news relating to U.S. farm policy which is published most weekdays. For more information, go to www.FarmPolicy.com.