–From the National Association of Wheat Growers
NAWG signed onto two letters this week expressing funding priorities to House and Senate appropriators.
More than 40 groups sent a letter Thursday to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee’s agriculture subcommittee encouraging them to reject any provisions in their FY2010 product that would upset the balance created by the 2008 Farm Bill.
The groups said, in part:
“As the Subcommittee develops the FY10 Agriculture Appropriations measure, [we] respectfully and strongly encourage you not to include any provisions which would substantially alter the fundamental policies and delicate balance and allocation of financial resources embodied in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.
“We believe amendments to the farm law change the rules in midstream before the act can even be fully implemented and ignores the fact that producers and lenders alike have to make long-term business decisions based upon the commitments made by Congress in the five-year farm bill…”
Earlier in the week, a coalition of 50 groups wrote agriculture appropriations leaders in both chambers, asking them to maintain conservation funding included in the 2008 Farm Bill but targeted by the Obama Administration for cuts. The groups specifically mentioned six programs on the chopping block, and noted that demand for participation in conservation programs routinely far outstrips available funding.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee with jurisdiction over USDA funding held a hearing Thursday.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified, primarily covering topics included in the Obama Administration’s budget proposals. A Webcast of the Senate hearing is accessible at http://appropriations.senate.gov/
The House Appropriation Committee’s agriculture subcommittee is expected to mark up the FY2010 agriculture appropriations bill on June 11.
Funding for a number of key issues could be affected by this process, including trade promotion programs, agriculture research and conservation funding.
Both letters sent this week are available in full at www.wheatworld.org/policy. NAWG staff will continue to follow the process and report to member-states as appropriate.
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