The probability that Congress and President Barack Obama will
conclude a "fiscal cliff" bill to deal with the nation's deficit, much less
include a new farm bill in it, is low, but House Agriculture Committee ranking
member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he is not worried about whether a bill
is passed before next year.
On Dec. 20, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, failed to convince House
Republicans to support his bill to extend tax rates for all but people with
incomes of more than $1 million. The next day, he sent House members home with
no clear plan to return, and announced that the next steps are up to the
Senate and Obama.
Boehner told reporters he would continue to work with the Senate and the
president, but he added "How we get there, God only knows."
The shift of leadership to the Democratic-led Senate and the president
raises the possibility of a year-end deal that could pass the House only with
the support of House Democrats, but such a bill would make conservative House
Republicans furious.
Boehner's statement that he had to turn over leadership on the "fiscal
cliff" issue to the Senate and Obama was a clear failure on his part, but he
insisted Dec. 21 that his speakership is not in jeopardy.
While the House has gone home, many members of the Senate are planning to
travel to Hawaii for the funeral of Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. Senators are
not expected back in Washington until Dec. 27, which still gives legislators
four days to work on legislation before the end of the year, when the 112th
Congress will go out of existence.
Obama is also scheduled to go to Hawaii for Christmas, and White House
officials have said they are not sure what the next move would be on "fiscal
cliff" negotiations.
Boehner said he will call the House back if they are needed. Both the
House and the Senate will swear in new members and start the business of a new
Congress on Jan. 3., but the farm bills that have passed the Senate and the
House Agriculture Committee will die on Dec. 31 if they are not acted on.
Milk in the news
Meanwhile, the prospect of rising milk prices got renewed media attention
on Dec. 21 in a story in The New York Times.
Milk prices may rise if a new farm bill or the dairy programs in the 2008
bill are not revived before Jan. 1, when the Agriculture Department would be
required to enforce a 1949 dairy law.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said
the prospect of higher dairy prices showed why Congress needs to pass a
"fiscal cliff" bill that includes a farm bill.
"Fiscal cliff tax increases would hit middle class families' pocketbooks,
but so would paying $6 or $7 for a gallon of milk," Stabenow said in a
statement.
"It is absolutely critical that Congress pass a new five-year farm bill
to keep food prices stable and protect America's 16 million agriculture jobs."
she said. "The farm bill reforms programs and cuts spending by $23 billion, so
including it in a final deficit reduction deal will help the country avoid the
fiscal cliff."
But Peterson told the radio program AgriTalk on Dec. 20, "I object to
this terminology of 'going over the cliff,' This is not a cliff because if
everything expires, nothing dramatic happens."
Taxpayers' withholding "will go up a bit" he explained, but the
sequestration cuts don't go into effect immediately. He also noted that when
Congress has not met its deadlines, the problems have been fixed
retroactively.
On the farm bill, which expired Sept. 30, Peterson noted that programs
affecting crops would not be affected immediately because those programs are
based on crop year, not the expiration date of the bill.
Although the Agriculture Department is required to begin implementing a
1949 dairy program on Jan. 1, Peterson noted that some economists have said it
should not affect dairy prices until May or June.
Peterson has opposed a farm bill extension unless it includes the dairy
stabilization program that is in both the Senate-passed and House Agriculture
Committee-passed farm bills.
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Distributed by MCT Information Services
