Former Senators Call for Agriculture Reform

Source from:  tobaccofarmquarterly.com Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 31, 12007 06/04/2007

Former Senate leaders Tom Daschle and Bob Dole suggested the nation's agricultural policy should be reformed, releasing a plan designed to lessen farmer dependence on subsidies. Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota, and Dole, a Republican from Kansas, proposed eliminating direct subsidy payments to farmers but retaining countercyclical payments, which pay farmers when prices are low. They also suggested Wednesday that farmers be encouraged to take part in emerging markets such as renewable fuels to help them stay afloat. The former senators said their proposals could mean a net savings of $4.7 billion to the U.S. Treasury. "If we're going to have a farm bill this year, we have to demonstrate that the farm bill can be written at a reduced cost to taxpayers," said Daschle, the Senate's top Democrat when Republican John Thune defeated him in 2004. Daschle was a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and played a major role in writing the last six-year farm bill, passed in 2002. Congress is beginning work on that law's renewal this year. Dole also was on the committee before he left the Senate in 1996. Lawmakers need to broaden their perspectives when crafting farm policy, he said. The former senators backed a mandatory cap and trade program designed to reduce greenhouse gases. Such a system would set limits on greenhouse gas emissions but would let companies not meeting the cap buy credits from those in compliance. Any attempt to eliminate direct payments would be opposed by some farm-state members. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, has been outspoken in his opposition to any effort to trim the program. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said the report has some "good ideas," adding that more people appear to be looking at the direct payments. Still, he said, the former senators' ideas may be too ambitious for all of the constituencies involved in crafting a farm bill. Enditem