By Jon H. Harsch
© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.
Washington, Feb. 27 – Prospects look good for the House and Senate to agree on a two or three week Continuing Resolution (CR) this week. The deal would avoid the threatened March 4 shutdown and provide more time to work out a deal to last the rest of the fiscal year which ends Sept. 30. But the compromise is only possible because the short-term CR is expected to include some $4 billion in new budget cuts for this year. Democrats had wanted an as-is extension instead but find it hard to argue with the Republican proposal which gets its $4 billion from eliminating hard-to-defend earmarks and from cutting programs which President Obama has already proposed cutting in his 2012 budget.
Avoiding the shutdown won't avoid showdowns this week – in a series of fiscal 2012 budget hearings which kick off with USDA Sec. Vilsack defending the administration's proposed Agriculture Department budget on Tuesday. Interior Sec. Ken Salazar and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson can also expect lively sessions when it's their turn to answer House Appropriations Committee questions in two other hearings on Thursday.
Sec. Vilsack no doubt will welcome the opportunity to spend time with a friendlier crowd when he addresses the Commodity Classic Annual Conference in Tampa Friday.
Other House hearings this week, with some listed below, will cast a critical eye on everything from “Obamacare” and mine safety regulations, to the new financial reform law and “EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations and Their Effect on American Jobs.”
Other key events and meetings this week:
Monday, Feb. 28
House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on reforming federal regulatory procedures to promote economic growth.
Deputy U. S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro will meet with the Panamanian Vice Minister of Commerce and Industry Alvarez de Soto.
USDA reports: Agricultural Prices, Chickens and Eggs, Egg Products
Tuesday, March 1
House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Department of Agriculture budget for FY 2012, with Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack.
House Natural Resources Committee hearing on The Impact of the Administration’s Wild Lands Order on Jobs and Economic Growth, with Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.
House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing on The Consequences of Obamacare: Impact on Medicaid and State Health Care Reform.
House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations and Their Effect on American Jobs.
Senate Banking Committee hearing on The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, with Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.
USTR Ron Kirk will deliver remarks at the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) Plenary session.
Wednesday, March 2
House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Department of Agriculture budget for FY 2012, with USDA Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong.
House Appropriations Committee hearing on Major Management Challenges at the Environmental Protection Agency.
House Financial Services Committee hearing on Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy, with Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.
House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on The Effect of Dodd-Frank on Small Financial Institutions and Small Businesses.
House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on the FY 2012 Budget and Priorities of the Environmental Protection Agency: Impacts on Jobs, Liberty, and the Economy.
Senate Budget Committee hearing on the President's FY 2012 budget request for the Department of Energy, with Energy Sec. Steven Chu.
House Rules Committee hearing on H.R. 4, To repeal the expansion of information reporting requirements for payments of $600 or more to corporations.
Senate Environment & Public Works Committee hearing on Environmental Protection Agency Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Hearing, with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.
Senate Energy Committee hearings on the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012 for the Department of the Interior, with Interior Sec. Ken Salazar.
USDA reports: Broiler Hatchery, Dairy Products
Thursday, March 3
Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Implementation of Title VII of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency budget for FY 2012, with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.
House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Department of the Interior Spending and the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Proposal, with Interior Sec. Ken Salazar.
House Oversight & Government Reform Committee hearing on The Refuse of the Federal Spending Binge II: How U.S. Taxpayers are Paying Double for Failing Government Programs.
House Science, Space & Technology Committee hearing on The Department of Energy Fiscal Year 2012 Research and Development Budget Request, with Energy Sec. Steven Chu.
Senate Energy Committee hearings on the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012 for the USDA Forest Service with Chief Tom Tidwell.
U. S. Trade Representative Office Chief Agricultural Negotiator Islam Siddiqui will participate in cotton trade discussions in Brasilia, Brazil
Climate-change negotiators from some 200 countries meet in Bangkok.
USDA Dairy Advisory Committee conference call to vote on approval of final recommendations to the secretary for dairy policy changes.
Friday, March 4
USDA reports: Dairy Products Prices, Peanut Prices.
To add your event to our calendar, please e-mail us at: jon@agri-pulse.com
For other Agri-Pulse news stories, go to: www.agri-pulse.com
#30