NCGA,
Coalition Partners Urge Congress to Maintain Farm Bill Funding (2-4-05)
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) joined
a broad coalition of more than 100 organizations this week in voicing
concern over proposals to reduce spending for nutrition, conservation
and farm programs in the 2006 federal budget. The president’s
budget, expected to be released Feb. 7, will detail the administration’s
proposals to Congress for reducing the federal deficit in half by
2009.
In a letter to the secretary of agriculture and
House and Senate Budget Committees, NCGA and its coalition partners
urged lawmakers to maintain funding for the 2002 farm bill.
“NCGA’s support of the coalition effort
reflects a long standing policy that opposes reopening the farm
bill before its expiration in 2007,” said Sam Willett, NCGA
director of public policy.
Upon receiving the president’s budget, Congress
will begin work immediately on crafting a budget resolution that
establishes spending levels to fund a multitude of programs and
operate the federal government
The letter states that any program reductions and/or
restructurings could seriously undermine many nutrition, conservation,
crops insurance and farm programs that are important to all Americans.
“All of the American families and industries
impacted by USDA’s programs have labored hard to work with
Congress and USDA to create programs in the farm bill that work
for our constituents within the specific budget limits provided
by Congress,” the letter said.
The letter says many critical programs have already
sustained budget reductions in recent years. For example, the agricultural
appropriations bill which had its 302 (b) allocation reduced in
both of the previous two years. “These reduced resources,
coupled with the need to fund hurricane and other disaster assistance,
have necessitated reductions in funding for many discretionary agriculture
programs, as well as reductions of $4 billion in mandatory agriculture
programs,” noted the letter.
Farm bill programs play a critical role in the country’s economic
growth, the letter states, as well as providing numerous environmental
benefits through its conservation provisions, USDA’s nutrition
programs that provide food to the most vulnerable members of our
society and farm programs which have spent $15 billion less than
the costs initially projected by the Congressional Budget Office
when Congress passed the 2002 bill.
The letter concludes that a budget with reductions in farm programs
would come at a time that prices for many major commodities are
falling to levels when supports are most needed.
To read the
letter in its entirety, please click here.