[Pollinator] House deals shock defeat to farm bill
Johnson, Renee
RJOHNSON at crs.loc.gov
Thu Jun 20 14:08:35 PDT 2013
House deals shock defeat to farm bill
3:20pm EDT
By Charles Abbott<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=Charles.Abbott>
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican budget-cutters joined with Democratic defenders of food stamps on Thursday to deal a shocking defeat to the proposed $500 billion, five-year farm bill backed by Republican leaders, undermining hopes of enacting such legislation before the current stop-gap law expires.
"Today's failure leaves the entire food and agriculture sector in the lurch," the American Soybean Association, a group which represents growers, said in a statement.
Frank Lucas, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said there may not be another chance to craft a farm bill this year.
The level of funding for food stamps for low-income Americans was the major issue for the farm bill. Lucas' bill called for the largest cuts in food stamps in a generation.
The Senate passed a bill last week that proposed a $4 billion cut, compared to the $20 billion cut of the House bill. The cuts in the House legislation would have ended benefits to 2 million people, or about 4 percent of enrollment.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor blamed Democrats for the outcome, saying they were not interested in consensus.
Steny Hoyer, the assistant Democratic leader, said the bill failed because Republicans insisted on "egregious" changes to food stamps.
All but two dozen Democrats in the House voted against the bill. The biggest surprise was that about one quarter of the Republican majority also voted no, in most instances because they wanted the bill to include deeper cuts to food stamps and other programs than proposed. The 234-195 vote undermined hopes of enacting a farm bill before the current stop-gap law expires in the fall.
Moments before defeat, Lucas appealed to his colleagues, "Vote with me to move this forward ... if it fails today, I cannot guarantee you'll see in this session another attempt."
"I am glad we stood up for children," said Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, after the vote.
The bill died in the House in 2012 in an election-year gridlock that also revolved mostly around food stamp cuts.
The just-passed Senate farm bill proposed $24 billion in savings, half of it from traditional crop subsidies. Both bills proposed to cut conservation programs by $6 billion while streamlining them.
And both would expand the taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance program, including policies for cotton and peanut growers to protect them from fluctuations in crop revenue.
(Reporting by Charles Abbott, Editing by Ros Krasny and Sofina Mirza-Reid)
From: pollinator-bounces+rjohnson=crs.loc.gov at lists.sonic.net [mailto:pollinator-bounces+rjohnson=crs.loc.gov at lists.sonic.net] On Behalf Of Tom Van Arsdall
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 4:50 PM
To: Pollinator Listserv
Subject: [Pollinator] Media Release: Pollinator-Beneficial Farm Bill Amendment Adopted by U.S. House During Pollinator Week
MEDIA RELEASE [cid:image001.jpg at 01CE6DD8.CC1C18C0]
June 20, 2013
Tom Van Arsdall tva at pollinator.org<mailto:tva at pollinator.org> t 703.509.4746
Sunny Boyd sun at pollinator.org<mailto:sun at pollinator.org> t 415.362.1137
Pollinator-Beneficial Farm Bill Amendment Adopted by House During Pollinator Week
Would Help Ensure Viability of Honey Bees, Native Pollinators and Other Beneficial Insects
San Francisco, CA-The Pollinator Partnership (P2) applauded passage by a bipartisan vote of 273-149 of a pollinator amendment to the farm bill on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday. If enacted into law, the amendment, authored by Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (FL), and carried by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH) on his behalf, would help ensure the viability of honey bees, native pollinators and other beneficial insects. Representatives Rodney Davis (IL) and Jeff Denham (CA) also were lead supporters of the amendment.
"We applaud Representatives Hastings, Kaptur, Davis and Denham for their critical leadership in achieving this bipartisan outcome during National Pollinator Week," said Laurie Davies Adams, P2 Executive Director. "Even though the House failed to pass a farm bill today, members of the House have recognized through their precedent-setting vote on the amendment that pollinators need more help. We will continue to work with concerned citizens, the Congress and the Administration to find ways to provide that assistance."
"It's simple. No bees, no food," said Congressman Alcee L. Hastings of Florida. "Our pollinating partners are in trouble, and they need our help. My amendment builds on good efforts to date by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by encouraging interagency cooperation, and directing more attention to honey bee forage needs in USDA conservation programs."
"I greatly appreciate the hard work and leadership involvement of the Pollinator Partnership and other key groups in building bipartisan support for my amendment," Hastings added. "This is most definitely a positive outcome during National Pollinator Week."
"I thank the Pollinator Partnership for its leadership on this issue. The Pollinator Partnership and other key groups are essential to building support in Congress for this important amendment, and we saw the results of that on the House floor," said Congresswoman Kaptur of Ohio.
"As a member of the Pollinator Protection Caucus and an advocate for this research, I was happy to support this bipartisan amendment. We must continue to drive home just how important bees and other pollinators are to getting the nutrition we need, and improving federal coordination to address and promote pollinator health is a great step, said Congressman Rodney Davis of Illinois.
"Dr. May Berenbaum is a world class entomologist at the University of Illinois, which is in the 13th District. She and her team are doing critical work on this problem. We can support the great work being done by May, and the Pollinator Partnership, by passing strong pollinator protection policies," Davis added.
"I was pleased to see the approval of an amendment that improves current and future efforts to support the long-term viability of pollinator bees and other beneficial insects in agriculture. As a Central Valley almond farmer and co-chair of the House Pollinator Caucus, I understand the importance of a healthy apiary industry and its effects on our local agricultural economy," said Congressman Jeff Denham of California.
P2 collaborated with beekeeping organizations and Hastings in shaping the amendment and building support among key stakeholder groups and in the House. Other groups on record in support of the amendment include: American Honey Producers Association, American Beekeeping Federation, American Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Blue Diamond Growers, Florida Farm Bureau, American Farmland Trust, National Wildlife Federation, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and Center for Food Safety,
The full text of the Hastings amendment is available at http://pollinator.org/PDFs/HASTFL3.pdf.
Members of the Congressional Pollinator Protection Caucus (CP2C) played key roles. Co-chairs Hastings and Denham, and CP2C members Kaptur and Davis, were joined by the following caucus members supporting the amendment: Earl Blumenauer (OR), Jim Costa (CA), Rosa DeLauro (CT), Ted Deutch (FL), Bob Goodlatte (VA), Jared Huffman (CA) and Rob Wittman (VA).
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ABOUT THE POLLINATOR PARTNERSHIP
Established in 1997, the Pollinator Partnership is the largest 501(c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the health, protection, and conservation of all pollinating animals. For further information, visit www.pollinator.org<http://www.pollinator.org>!
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Amendment Highlights
* Emphasizes the importance of improving managed honey bee forage in USDA conservation programs;
* Encourages an inter-agency dialogue about pollinator health that includes appropriate sharing of guidance and technical expertise between USDA, Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency;
* Creates a USDA task force on bee health and commercial beekeeping to enhance Federal cooperation relating to preservation of pollinators and the pollination industry;
* Requests regular monitoring and reporting on health and population status of pollinators (including bees, birds, bats, and other species);
* Encourages agencies to utilize the best available peer-reviewed science on environmental and chemical stressors to pollinators, including giving consideration to international efforts addressing pollinator declines; and
* Encourages assessment of honey bee research laboratories at USDA and a feasibility study of collaborative options.
R. Thomas (Tom) Van Arsdall, Director of Public Affairs
Pollinator Partnership<http://www.pollinator.org/>
(703) 509-4746
tva at pollinator.org<mailto:tva at pollinator.org>
[cid:image004.jpg at 01CE6DD8.CC1C18C0]<http://www.pollinator.org/SHARE.htm>
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