New money for nutrition

It could be some of the battles on the floor of the Senate over the farm bill may be avoided with this news from the office of Sen. Tom Harkin. Meanwhile, Robert Guenther said this morning that senior staff on the Hill told him the farm bill may start later rather than earlier next week. Probably not a Monday start...
From Harkin's office:

Farm Bill Negotiation Improves ACR Program, Boosts Nutrition Funding by $1 Billion Chairman, Members of Senate Agriculture Committee Strike Deal to Allocate Savings Provided in Revenue Proposal

Washington, D.C. – An additional $1 billion will be devoted to boosting USDA nutrition assistance in the Senate version of the new farm bill – the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 – under an agreement concluded among Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and other members of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. The additional funding became available when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated additional cost savings from the Average Crop Revenue (ACR) program as details of an amendment by Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) were worked out. The Committee agreed last week to devote any surplus funds generated from the ACR-related amendment to nutrition assistance. This week, it was determined that additional ten-year budget savings under the modified ACR would be $1.092 billion. The ACR program included in the farm bill reported from the Committee closely reflect legislation authored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). “The agreement we were able to work out among members of the Committee re-invests these critical farm bill dollars in one of our nation’s most urgent needs – nutrition assistance to low-income Americans,” said Chairman Harkin.
“Throughout this farm bill process I have advocated for additional funding to improve our USDA food assistance. The ACR savings allow us to raise the food stamp asset limit and thus allow low-income Americans to nutrition assistance before hitting rock, increase the minimum food stamp benefit, which is especially important to seniors, and also strengthen federal help to our nation’s food banks.”

“During the deliberations in the Agriculture Committee over the Roberts amendment, my goal was to improve ACR and, if possible, expand nutrition programs. Today’s compromise goes beyond my initial expectations – it will feed the hungry by providing more people with more benefits while improving the ACR option for farmers,” said Brown, the first Ohio Senator in 40 years to serve on the Agriculture Committee. “However, there is much work left to done to give farmers a real choice in farm programs. I will continue to work on behalf of Ohio farmers to strengthen the program as it moves to the floor of the Senate.”

“The improved ACR program that was recently negotiated will save us an additional $1 billion while providing better protection for farmers by protecting revenue rather than merely price as the current system does,” said Durbin. "The proposal included in Chairman Harkin's bill is a significant step forward and it will help us make our support programs work better for both producers and taxpayers."

The savings determined by CBO will not only strengthen nutrition, but also improve the ACR program by raising the fixed payment on base acres from 85 percent to 100 percent. The savings are from the reduced payment acres for the revenue portion and from the one-time signup, i.e., producers can enroll in either 2010, 2011, or 2012, but once a producer signs up, the producer has to stay in the ACR through the end of the farm bill. Other savings occur because there is less participation in the direct and counter-cyclical payments, and loan benefits, and from the 2 percentage point reduction in administrative and operating expenses for crop insurance. According to the agreement, the savings will be allocated as follows: Increase food stamp asset limit from $2000 to $3500 for most households. from $3000 to $4500 for households containing an elderly individual or an individual with a disability. Increase food stamp minimum benefit to 10 percent of the maximum benefit for a household of one. This matches the minimum benefit agreed to in the House-passed farm bill. This would raise the minimum monthly benefit from $10 to $18 by 2012. Provide an additional $10 million annually for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and food banks over the committee mark. This brings the annual increase for TEFAP to $110 million annually.

The Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday, October 25th and is scheduled for floor consideration the week of November 5th. The funding changes agreed to will be incorporated into the bill through procedural, technical changes before floor consideration.