About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 1 (August 29, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabdgj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22131 Updated August 29, 2005 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web The Farm Bill in Brief Geoffrey S. Becker Specialist in Agricultural Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division Summary Most provisions of the current farm bill, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), do not expire until 2007. Nonetheless, various policy developments have brought farm bill programs into play during the 109th Congress. For example, the FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95) directs the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to find five-year savings of $3 billion from programs under their jurisdiction. Hearings on a 2007 farm bill itself could begin later in 2005. This report will be updated if events warrant; for a more extensive discussion of the issues, see CRS Report RL33037, Previewing a 2007 Farm Bill. What Is the Farm Bill? Federal farm support, food assistance, agricultural trade, marketing, and rural development policies are governed by a variety of separate laws. Many of these laws periodically have been evaluated, revised, and renewed through an omnibus, multi-year farm bill. These policies can be and sometimes are modified through free-standing authorizing legislation, or as part of other laws. However, omnibus farm bills have provided Congress, the Administration, and interest groups with a periodic opportunity to address agricultural and food issues more comprehensively. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-17 1) is the most recent omnibus farm bill. Many provisions, notably farm income and commodity price supports, expire in 2007. Without new legislation, permanent price support statutes would take effect. Most of these statutes were enacted many decades ago and are no longer compatible with current national economic objectives, global trading rules, and federal budgetary or regulatory policies. Many believe that these largely outdated permanent laws are kept on the books partly to compel a Congress with increasingly urban and suburban constituencies to pay attention to national agricultural policy. (Secretary of Agriculture Johanns in July 2005 began a nationwide series of public Farm Bill Forums throughout the country.) Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress