Farm Bill Clears Senate, Final Vote Tuesday

By Paul Ebeloing
Source: livetradingnews.com

US delayed farm legislation cleared a procedural hurdle Monday in the US Senate, with final passage of the nearly $1-T bill expected as early as Tuesday.

The House of Representatives last week overwhelmingly passed the sweeping measure that trims food stamps for the poor, expands federal crop insurance, consolidates agricultural conservation programs and ends direct payments to farmers.

Also, pursuant to the passage of the farm bill, the cultivation of industrial hemp will become legal, and clears the way for industrial hemp pilot programs in states such as Colorado, Washington, California, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia, where growing the plant is already  legal.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) worked to retain and strengthen the provision in the bill, He was the lead negotiator in getting Hemp included on the Farm Bill was quoted, “We are laying the groundwork for a new commodity market for Kentucky farmers.

The 72-22 Senate vote in favor of advancing the bill suggests it should have no trouble passing the Democratic-led chamber when it comes up for a final vote, which could come Tuesday.

The White House has said President Barack Hussein Obama would sign it into law.

“This is a new kind of farm bill designed to meet new challenges of a changing world,” Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and one of the four principal negotiators of the legislation, said on the Senate floor before the vote.

“We are also making major reforms, eliminating unnecessary, and unjustified programs to cut government spending and to increase the integrity of farm programs,” she said.

The $956-M legislation is expected to save about $16.6-B over 10 years compared with current funding, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Using a different scoring method, congressional leaders put the savings at $23-B.

The bill, which is supposed to be passed every 5  ys, is more than a year overdue after congressional negotiators struggled to forge a compromise.

About $8-B in savings over 10 yrs comes from cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, which accounts for more than 75% of the bill’s spending. The program provides funds to about 47-M low-income people to buy food.

The food stamp cut was well below the $40-B reduction advocated by the Republican-led House, but still double the amount originally supported by the Senate.

Stay tuned…HEMP is set to become a trillion dollar industry.