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Texas Agriculture Archive

April 4, 2003

Farmers may get
reprieve from budget cuts

A commitment by key members of Congress to maintain funding for farm programs and crop insurance through 2008 brought sighs of relief from agricultural producers.

At the urging of Reps. Larry Combest (R-Tex.) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) has promised to return the funding level for mandatory agriculture programs to what Congress approved in last year's farm bill. Nussle would see that funding is restored during the House-Senate conference on the fiscal 2004 budget resolution, ensuring that farm bill programs are fully funded through 2008.

"Farm Bureau is grateful to Combest and Emerson for standing up for agriculture," said American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman. "There is never a good time to reduce support for our farmers and ranchers. But with continuing hardship in the farm economy, weather disasters and growing demands for farmers to produce more while protecting the environment, there couldn't be a worse time to cut farm programs."

The House narrowly passed a 2004 budget resolution that cuts funding for agriculture programs by $18.6 billion, or about 10 percent, over the next 10 years in an attempt to balance the federal budget. But, Nussle committed to bring the funding level back to what Congress approved last year, and instead of cutting farm programs, work to achieve savings through cutting waste and fraud.

"It is my intention to work with the Agriculture Committee to ensure that the level of savings the Agriculture Committee is required to achieve is attributable to waste or fraud, with no negative impact on farm programs or crop insurance," Nussle wrote.

Farm Bureau recognizes that Congress must pass fiscally responsible legislation and work to reduce the federal budget deficit. But to place the burden of balancing the budget on the "backs of hard-working farmers and ranchers would be kicking them when they are already down," Stallman said.

"It often seems that farmers and ranchers miss out when much of the rest of our economy is growing, but they end up first in line when Congress is looking for somewhere to cut the budget," Stallman said. "We are very relieved that Chairman Nussle will work to ensure that does not happen this time, and we look forward to working with him and his colleagues to ensure that this commitment becomes a reality in the final budget resolution."

The Senate was scheduled to vote on their version of the 2004 budget resolution at press time.