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To
the NASULGC System:
- Board on Agriculture Assembly
- Budget and Advocacy Committee
- Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
- Council on Governmental Affairs
After a week of fiscal and political wrangling at the highest levels
of the House of Representatives, the House passed the 2007 Farm Bill
today by a vote of 231-191.
Officially dubbed the "Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007,"
the bill ran the gauntlet of more than 30 amendments made in order
on the House Floor before gaining passage. To see a tally of how
members voted on final passage:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll756.xml
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) said:
"This Farm Bill is about much more than farms. It is about the food
we eat, the clothes we wear, and increasingly the fuel we will use.
It assures that we will have a safe, strong food supply now and for
years to come... I am proud of the balanced and forward-looking Farm
Bill that we have passed."
In praising the bill on the House Floor, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA) said that: "Chairman Peterson and our colleagues on the
Agriculture Committee have done a masterful job. The result of their
work is a bipartisan farm bill that enjoys the support of the
American Farm Bureau, the National Farmers Union, and a wide array
of conservation and nutrition groups."
As you know, the bill was also supported by NASULGC president Peter
McPherson:
http://www.create-21.org/documents/PDF/McPherson_Letters.pdf
The following amendments of interest to the land-grant system were
adopted during floor debate:
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Hastings (FL): Adds a new
section for "Pollinator Protection" that authorizes research
funding to reduce North American pollinator decline and
understand Colony Collapse Disorder. This amendment also
adjusts USDA conservation programs to put a greater emphasis
on increasing habitat and establishing cropping and
integrated pest management practices to protect native and
managed pollinators.
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Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX):
Adds the additional point to Subtitle B of the research
title that emphasis should be placed on proposals that
examine the efficacy of current agriculture policies in
promoting the health and welfare of economically
disadvantaged populations (in addition to supporting
research/ health promotion to “solve the problems of
nutritional inadequacy).
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Terry (NE): Creates a
competitive demonstration project designed to provide proof
of concept in supplementing corn with sweet sorghum as an
ethanol feedstock.
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Wu (OR): Broadens the eligible
universities by adding that universities that do work in
alternative energy related fields, such as agriculture,
chemistry, environmental sciences, bioengineering,
biochemistry, natural resources and public policy are
eligible for the biofuels from biomass internship program.
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Israel (NY) and Doyle (PA):
Would eliminate the sale of random source animals for
research and will prohibit the marketing of medical devices
by using live animals in demonstrations to market such
devices.
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Bordallo (GU): Authorizes a
grants program to assist the land grant institutions in the
U.S. territories in upgrading facilities and equipment in
the agricultural and food sciences. It authorizes
appropriations for five years in the amount of $8 million
per year. It authorizes USDA to vary award amounts and to
establish competitive criteria for the program. |
ATTENTION
SHIFTS TO SENATE
Now that the House has completed action on the bill, attention will
turn to the United States Senate. To date no bill has been
introduced in that chamber, nor has any consensus seemed to have
emerged around any central ideas or themes for a bill. Nonetheless,
NASULGC has made and is continuing to make the land-grant system's
needs known to senators and key staff.
With Congress scheduled to begin its four week August recess at the
close of business on Friday August 3, it is likely that Senate
action will not begin in earnest until September.
The Cornerstone Team |
