04-27-2002

AGRICULTURE: Deal on Farm Bill Said to Be Near

It appeared at press time that a conference agreement on the farm bill
could soon be in hand. House-Senate conferees, including Senate Majority
Leader Thomas A. Daschle, D-S.D., met all morning on April 25 in an
attempt to reach a final agreement on the legislation, with some progress.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., told reporters
afterward that "a lot of things were resolved," but nothing was
made final because conferees want to make sure the bill "fits"
within the budget. A few Senate staffers said they hoped the bill would be
finished on April 25, but Conrad said, "There's just so much to go
through and it just takes time." Conferees, led by House Agriculture
Committee Chairman Larry Combest, R-Texas, and Senate Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, have been
meeting since mid-March. The Senate approved its farm bill in February,
and the House approved its version last October.


-Jerry Hagstrom/CongressDaily




National Journal