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This is the first of a series of reports
to NASULGC's Board on Agriculture Assembly concerning the 2007 Farm
Bill, including CREATE-21.
RECENT ACTIVITIES:
Both the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture are in the
preliminary stages of crafting a new Farm Bill. The committees have
held hearings in Washington, D.C. and around the country on Farm
Bill related subjects, members and staff have met with hundreds of
interested parties, and several legislative initiatives have been
introduced. Here are some highlights:
Senate Research Hearing. The
Senate Agriculture Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Tom
Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Republican Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) held a
hearing on agriculture research on March 7. The purpose of the
session was to receive testimony on CREATE-21, the NIFA (Danforth)
Task Force proposal, and the Bush Administration's Farm Bill
recommendations. Testifying on behalf of USDA was Gale Buchanan,
Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE). Other
witnesses included Dr. Alan Lesher (AAAS), Dr. Jeffrey Armstrong
(NASULGC), Dr. William Danforth (NIFA), and Dr. Francis Thicke (Iowa
farmer).
Committee members asked a range of questions and expressed their
concerns.
It was clear that there is: (1) broad support for increased funding
for fundamental research in food and agriculture (as both CREATE-21
and NIFA would do); (2) support for increased funding for
integrated and applied research and extension; (3) a range of
opinions about the benefits
that would accrue through a reorganization of the REE mission area
(as both CREATE-21 and the Administration propose); and (4)
some interest among some members in revisiting the formulas used to
distribute Hatch, McIntire-Stennis, Smith-Lever, and similar funds.
http://agriculture.senate.gov/Hearings/hearings.cfm?hearingId=2583
NIFA Introduced. Legislation to
implement some of the recommendations of the Danforth Task Force was
introduced in the Senate on March 22 by Sens. Christopher Bond
(R-MO),
Harkin, Richard Lugar (R-IN), and Ben Nelsen (R-NE). S.971, the
"National Institute of Food and Agriculture Act of 2007" would
establish NIFA as a stand-alone agency under the Secretary of
Agriculture and provide mandatory funding for fundamental research,
which at the end of five years would grow to $1 billion per year.
The House companion bill (with discretionary rather than
mandatory funding) was introduced by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) and
six cosponsors on May 2 and is numbered H.R. 2118.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00971:@@@L&summ2=m&
CREATE-21 Introduced. Sens.
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA) introduced the
CREATE-21 legislation in the Senate on April 12. S.1094, the "Creating Research
Extension and Teaching Excellence for the 21st Century Act of 2007"
would double authorized funding for USDA's research, extension, and education
efforts, streamline and unify the existing REE bureaucracy, and
provide much needed capacity funding for the entire land-grant
system, with special emphasis on the 1890, 1994, Insular Area, small 1862 land-grant institutions,
and AASCARR institutions.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN01094:@@@L&summ2=m&
UPCOMING EVENTS:
House Research Hearing Scheduled.
The House Agriculture Committee's Conservation, Credit, Energy, and
Research Subcommittee — chaired by Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA) — has
scheduled a hearing on May 10 on the Farm Bill Research Title. The
subcommittee will receive testimony from USDA Under Secretary
Buchanan, Dr. Danforth, Dr. Bruce McPheron (Penn State, representing
NASULGC), and Dr. Sharon Quisenberry (Virginia Tech). The subcommittee will discuss all three of the
major initiatives that are currently on the table (CREATE-21, NIFA,
and the administration's proposal).
Staff
Working on Drafts. Professional staff members from
both political parties and both sides of Capitol Hill have started
working on legislative provisions in preparation for the markups
which will occur in the next few weeks (see below). The Cornerstone
team — in conjunction with the CREATE-21 / Farm Bill Committee
leadership, and NASULGC staff have met with majority and minority
professional staff members of the House subcommittee and the Senate
Agriculture Committee's Energy, Science, and Technology
Subcommittee. These meetings have included discussions about
CREATE-21 and NASULGC's other Farm Bill priorities. These
meetings are ongoing and will increase in frequency as the markups
approach.
Tentative Schedule — Markups as Early as this Month.
Most current Farm Bill authorizations expire on September 30, 2007
(end of F.Y. 2007) and that deadline is now and will continue to
drive the legislative schedule. One "optimistic" timeline is as follows:
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May |
House
subcommittee markups |
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June |
House
subcommittee markups
House
full committee markup
Senate full committee markup (?) |
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July |
Senate
full committee markup (?)
House floor debate
Senate floor debate (?) |
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August |
Congressional recess |
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September |
Senate
floor debate (?)
House-Senate conference committee
Final House action on conference report
Final Senate action on conference report
Presidential signature (?) |
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October |
Presidential signature (?) |
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Note: This is only our best current guess
as to how the remainder of the Farm Bill process could unfold. Odds
are good that delays in the schedule will occur. We'll do our best
to keep you regularly informed.
The Cornerstone Team |
