By JANE
NORMAN
Register Washington Bureau
10/10/2001
Washington, D.C. - The Senate Agriculture Committee
could begin work on a new farm bill as early as next week.
The Senate timetable for the bill was moved up after the House approved a
new bill on a vote of 291-120 last week, said Seth Boffeli, a spokesman for the
Senate Agriculture Committee. The House bill offers $73.5 billion more than
current levels on farm programs over 10 years.
The White House has objected to extra spending and asked that the farm bill
be delayed until the budget picture is more certain in the wake of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. Top senate Republicans, including Charles Grassley of Iowa
and Richard Lugar of Indiana, also have urged a delay.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., chairman of the Agriculture Committee, has said he
wants more conservation measures put in a new farm bill. He and Lugar, the lead
Republican on the committee, have agreed on a general set of principles for the
bill, but specifics still must be hammered out.
How far the Senate gets on the bill this year depends on how long Congress
stays in session, Boffeli said.
FARM BILL: A confirmation hearing for Iowan Thomas
Dorr will be delayed until after the Senate Agriculture Committee completes
work on a new farm bill. The hearing was postponed following the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks.
CONTROVERSY: Dorr was nominated earlier this year to be
undersecretary for rural development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He
is opposed by rural activists who say he favors large-scale operations, and he
was criticized for saying that some Iowa counties benefited from a lack of
ethnic diversity.