WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2013 – Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.,
pressured Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., to
reaffirm her commitment to ending direct payments during a Senate floor
exchange today. The chairwoman quickly obliged.
“Direct payments have become recently synonymous with waste,
fraud and abuse,” Flake said.
“The program is indefensible in current budget climate,” Stabenow agreed. “It makes no sense to pay farmers when haven’t suffered a loss.”
Though the Senate-passed farm bill eliminates direct
payments in favor of the crop insurance program, delayed legislation in the
House means that a farm bill conference has yet to begin.
That’s despite the fact that lawmakers will only have nine
legislative days to complete the bill once they return from recess in
September. The current one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill is set to
expire Sept. 30.
Stabenow and Flake pointed out another one-year extension
would continue direct payments.
The senators acknowledged, however, that their gulf between
their policy positions remains wide.
The Senate-passed farm bill, written under the leadership of
Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Stabenow, “leaves much to be desired,” said
Flake. He said he hoped a conference might produce a bill with “dramatic
changes to reduce the taxpayer cost” of farm policy.
#30
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