Copyright 2001 Star Tribune Star Tribune
(Minneapolis, MN)
December 19, 2001, Wednesday, Metro
Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6A
LENGTH: 378 words
HEADLINE:
Prospects for farm bill this year fading fast; A
second attempt to end debate was defeated, but the bill's sponsor said he will
press on this week.
BYLINE: Kevin Diaz; Staff
Writer
DATELINE: Washington, D.C.
BODY: Prospects for new farm subsidies
this year dwindled Tuesday as the Senate remained mired in a debate over an
agricultural bill that the White House opposes.
A second bid by Democrats to bring an end to the
debate was defeated 54 to 43. While supporters constitute a majority, Senate
rules require 60 votes to end debate. A previous attempt to invoke "cloture"
failed 53 to 45 on Thursday. Congress adjourns this week.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he
will call for a cloture vote every day of the session.
But Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.,
declared the bill all but dead for this year. "We should stop working on things
that can't be completed," he said. Even if the Senate passed the bill, it still
would have to be reconciled with a version passed by the House in October.
Democratic backers of the Senate bill,
including Minnesota Sens. Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton, accused Republicans of
employing stalling tactics. "If we don't have a farm bill by
Christmas we all deserve coal in our stockings," Dayton said.
Farm interests worry that $73.5 billion budgeted for
new farm subsidies over the next 10 years will evaporate under growing federal
deficits if Congress waits until next year.
The Senate bill would increase net farm income
in Minnesota by $3 billion a year, according to Wellstone. "In farm country,
greater Minnesota, and in our rural communities, this is the central issue that
affects people's lives," he said. "The farm dollar multiplies over and over
again in our communities."
Harkin's legislation would replace the 1996
Freedom to Farm bill, which expires in September. Lawmakers on
both sides of the aisle have criticized the law as a failed attempt to wean
farmers from government subsidies.
The Democrats' plan would raise price supports
and reintroduce payments that kick in when commodity prices fall below target
levels.
A Republican proposal,
backed by President Bush, would have maintained most current farm payments and
allowed farmers to open subsidized savings accounts as a hedge against bad crop
years and low farm prices. That plan was defeated 55-40 Tuesday night.
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