Vilsack Calls for Reforms in New Farm Bill

By CnAgri Print

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday urged Congress to break a logjam and pass a reform-minded farm bill, but two lobbyists said the deadlocked $500 billion bill may not be enacted for months, or even a year. According to Reuters, Vilsack, who is expected to stay at USDA for at least the start of President Barack Obama's second term, said the department would do everything we can to implement a new farm bill in time for the 2013 harvest next fall.

With deficit reduction at the top of the agenda for lawmakers during a brief post-election session, Vilsack said reform becomes a very important component for the farm bill, already six weeks overdue.

Written every few years, farm bills are panoramic legislation that range from production subsidies and soil conservation efforts to food aid, agricultural research and rural economic development. Food stamps account for three-quarters of the spending.

If the House debates the farm bill, Ohio Republican Jim Jordan said he would seek a vote to separate food stamps from the rest of the bill. The step would break a decades-old urban-rural coalition and could fit into a Republican plan to convert food stamps into a block grant to states.

The Senate passed its version of the farm bill in mid June but work on the bill stalled in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in late July.

The House Agriculture Committee's bill would make the deepest cuts in food stamps in a generation, four times more than the Senate version.

Vilsack declined during an interview to suggest a limit on food stamp cuts, in favor of direct discussions with lawmakers.

"I am concerned there is a lack of clarity on the part of House Republican leadership on how much of a priority this is," he told Reuters. "Our role is to see the reforms that are enacted do not undercut the purpose of (food stamps) or any other program."

Meanwhile, Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Democrat, is expected to return as the Senate Agriculture chairwoman. Frank Lucas, Oklahoma Republican, was expected to serve a second term as House Agriculture chairman.