Page 23 - Farm Bill Series_The 7 Things You Should Know

With guidance from Eckard about what could or could not pass the House, both Gillette and
Chatterjee worked with numerous others to draft what they viewed as an acceptable extension of
the current farm bill. Ironically, Roberts’ staff had drafted language for a straight extension
weeks earlier – in order to be prepared for a multitude of possibilities.

One source described this as the “break glass in case of emergency” option.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, Stabenow was extremely upset to learn about
this new version of an extension. Captured on video, she appeared to be venting her wrath on
Roberts during a late-night discussion on the sidelines of the Senate floor.

She called a members-only meeting to discuss options for returning to the larger extension
package. But some GOP members pointed to the potential for a budget point of order and
realized that it was the condensed extension package or nothing.

After the meeting, Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., argued for an adjustment in the Milk Income Loss
Contract (MILC) provisions, and Reid signaled that Leahy would have to quickly come up with
his own offset that was acceptable to Democrats because Republicans were done with the deal.
Ultimately, funding for SNAP was reduced to pay for enhanced assistance to dairy farmers.

Fast forward a few weeks into 2013 and Reid endorsed a new fiscal package that appeared to
contain much of the farm bill extension package that had been advanced by Stabenow and
rejected in late December – leading some to speculate that Stabenow, who is a tireless farm bill
negotiator, finally got her “payback” from Reid.

Although the sequester option had not yet been formally introduced, an outline of the measure
indicated that Reid’s bill would cut defense spending and net farm bill spending each by $27.5
billion over the coming decade and postpone cuts called for in the sequester until Jan. 2, 2014. It
would also raise an additional $55 billion by placing a minimum tax on millionaires and closing
other tax loopholes.

Stabenow told reporters that the $27.5 billion represented a ceiling on savings going forward,
and the Agriculture Committee would not be required to make additional cuts when members
wrote a new five-year farm bill.

The total elimination of direct payments would save about $31 billion, but the bill would
“reinvest” $3.5 billion to pay for 24 of the 37 farm bill programs that expired earlier than all
other farm bill programs. The early expiration date was a budget gimmick, designed to make
those programs fit into funding parameters available at the time the 2008 farm bill was written.

Ultimately, the Senate rejected rival proposals to stop the sequester, ensuring the $85 billion in
automatic spending cuts began March 1, 2013.

Now, it was time to get back to work on the farm bill, but there was a new player leading
Republicans in the Senate Agriculture Committee and one fewer on the House Agriculture
Committee.
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