Coleman sees bipartisan support for farm bill

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, December 8, 2007

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, said Friday during a conference call with The Daily Journal and other area news media representatives that a bypartisan agreement will likely lead to passage of the five-year farm bill in the U.S. Senate in the near future.

Previously the U.S. House, headed by Agiculture Committee Chairperson and Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson, passed its version of the 2007 Farm Bill by a vote of 231 to 191.

“The key to Senate bill passage is an agreement among Republicans and Democrats to limit farm bill amendments to 20 from each side,” Coleman said. “While that sounds like a lot of amendments, the number was over 200 during earlier debates.”

Coleman is working with fellow Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and members of both parties to hopefully — after Senate debate — vote for cloture. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate can limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours.

Passage of Rule XXII, however, would need 60 votes — three-fifths of the full Senate.

After passage of a Senate bill, the document would go to a Senate-House Conference Committee and be compared to the House bill passed by Rep. Peterson and fellow House members earlier this year. After a conference committee bill is approved by both the House and Senate, it will go to President Bush for his signature.

Coleman said Friday he is confident President Bush will sign the bill, and not opt for a presidential veto.

The House bill includes provisions on renewable energy and addresses support for ethanol production. The same provisions — albeit addressed differently — will also be included in the U.S. Senate bill, Coleman said.

“The U.S. Senate also will address the needs and concerns of corn, soybean, barley, sugarbeet growers and others,” Coleman said. “Each spring farmers put a lot on the line, and they deserve some certainty. That’s part of our responsibility in crafting a good Farm Bill.”

A new farm bill is debated, passed and signed into law only once every five years — the last one enacted in 2002.

House ag committee chair Peterson and members of his committee included a beginning farmer provision to help the next generation of producers take advantage of new opportunities in agriculture.

Included are support for training, credit and conservation initiatives.

Many members of Congress feel the farm subsidy program is broken. They feel too many people who don't really need the money are getting payments.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin of Iowa is one of the biggest boosters of making major changes in the subsidy system.

"We can't let a narrow minority segment drive this whole (farm) bill," Harkin said. "We can't let a few large entities who get a lot of money or people who get money who don't even farm drive the farm bill,” he said. “We just can't allow that to happen."

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