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Light at the end of the tunnelCould it be? Is it possible that there is light at the end of this farm bill tunnel? This past week saw a flurry of activity on the farm bill. After months of waiting (for no apparent reason) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally appointed conferees to the farm bill. In what could be considered a statement of defiance, she appointed 49 congressmen to the committee. The Senate has 11. To be fair, the House has different rules on appointing conferees; if one section of the bill crosses the jurisdiction of a committee other than ag, then that committee may be represented on the conference. When was the last time 60 members of Congress sat down and agreed on anything in a timely fashion? After months of waiting for the conference committee to be appointed, and months of listening to complaints from constituents that Congress was neglecting the farm bill, and months of speculation in farm country about what programs would be available this crop year, the conference committee held their first meeting. With so much build up and pressure to move a bill quickly, one would expect the members to act with some sense of urgency. After all, this is what they've been waiting for. When Conference Chairman Senator Tom Harkin banged the gavel, everyone eagerly waited to witness progress in action. Unfortunately, after a mere 45 minutes and long speech after long speech, the gavel banged again and the meeting was over. No substantive decisions, no real progress, just the same old arguments. The farm bill expires on April 18th and there's no doubt another extension will be needed. The doubt centers around whether the White House will veto a short term extension or not. If an extension is not passed and farm law reverts to that of the 1930s and 1940s, it will take some time for USDA to implement the program. While this may buy Congress a few days or weeks before milk prices shoot through the roof, as a result of the permanent law, it certainly won't calm any criticism that the new leadership in Congress lacks either the knowledge, desire, or simple intestinal fortitude to get a farm bill completed. Some folks may view the appointment of a conference committee as a light at the end of the tunnel. My fear is that there's a 200 ton diesel powered locomotive attached to that light. 4/21/08 Advertisement
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