It focuses farm support on revenue, not price.
I am also glad to see the tightening of payment limits and changes to ensure that those who receive government payments are actively engaged in farming. I am especially pleased with the efforts to streamline and simplify the conservation programs. That is an issue I have heard a lot about. This bill actually consolidates 23 conservation programs into 13. In fact, I proposed similar changes as Agriculture Secretary during the last farm bill process. The improvements reduce costs, while also making the programs more farmer friendly. This bill takes yet another step in the right direction to reforming farm policy for the 21st century.
The Senate has approved their version of the 2012 Farm Bill with a 64-35 vote today. Senate Republicans, including Dick Lugar, accounted for 16 of the 64 affirmative votes.
The Farm Bill was sold as a bi-partisan, budget cutting piece of legislation. In reality, the bill fails to make any meaningful cuts to the food stamp program or farm subsidies. The bill is another in a long line of bi-partisan deals that will lock in big spending and pages of regulations. In this case the price tag is $969 billion, with 1,000 pages to empower DC bureaucrats....
bipartisan majority of Senators. Although the amendment didn't receive the 60 votes needed to pass, it earned the support of 56 Senators, including 10 Democrats, and sent a message to the EPA that the Senate believes the American people deserve answers about this program. EPA has been deliberately ambiguous when it comes to the size and scope of its
aerial surveillance. Rest assured, I will not stop pressing the agency to provide full disclosure about this program.