DOA?

Sen. Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., isn't happy about the latest plan to divide up the $10 billion or so over baseline: From Baucus yesterday afternoon:


Finance Chairman Baucus this afternoon called a new outline of proposed spending for this year’s farm bill “dead on arrival” with him and with other Senators. Baucus has led the Finance Committee in creating a fully paid-for $5.1 billion fund for permanent agriculture disaster assistance for America’s farmers, and in converting some farm payment programs to tax credit programs, both to free up funds for the Agriculture Committee to spend on additional farm bill priorities. Baucus is also a senior member of the Agriculture panel. From Chairman Baucus: “This new farm bill proposal is dead on arrival. I won’t vote for or help to fund any agreement that does not do disaster assistance right for our farmers in need. I bet other Senators will feel the same. The National Farmers Union made stable, permanent disaster assistance its number-one priority for the farm bill, but this slashes the Senate’s good plan for disaster assistance in half. “On the farm bill, the Finance Committee did something it’s done nowhere else,finding resources and freeing up funds for the Agriculture Committee to pursue priorities like nutrition programs. If we continue to work together, we can keep America’s farmers from getting the short end of the stick on disaster assistance. This proposed agreement isn’t good enough.”