Approved Budget Resolution Limits Agriculture Cuts to $173 Million
in FY 06, Notes NCGA (4-29-05)
Congress approved a fiscal
year (FY) 2006 budget resolution bill last night that limits reductions
in agriculture and farm policy programs to $173 million, notes the
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).
The agreement calls for
agriculture program spending cuts of $3 billion over five years,
a figure considerably less than proposed in President George W.
Bush’s budget, according to NCGA Senior Director of Public
Policy Sam Willett. Overall, the conference agreement calls for
$34.7 billion in savings in mandatory spending.
Willett, acknowledging
there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure agriculture farm
programs are minimally impacted as the agriculture committees decide
how to comply with the reconciliation instructions and how to secure
the required savings from specific programs, said farmers are going
to see $173 million in reductions for the next fiscal year beginning
Oct. 1, 2005.
“NCGA understands the budget environment we are in, and we
are pleased that Congress has passed a budget that we believe will
protect the integrity and safety net of the current farm bill,”
said NCGA President Leon Corzine. “We appreciate the hard
work of the conference committee members and the members of Congress
and their understanding of the importance of the 2002 farm bill
to our family farms.”
The Senate passed the measure by a 52-47 vote; the House vote was
214 – 211. Passage of the budget resolution now sets the stage
for three filibuster-proof reconciliation bills later in the year
that would provide for $34.7 billion in cuts to mandatory programs,
$70 billion in tax cuts, and a $781-billion increase in the statutory
debt limit.
The conference agreement
calls for $34.7 billion in savings in mandatory spending for the
period FY 2006 through FY 2010. The budget plan projects the annual
federal deficit to fall to $387 billion in FY 2006 and then decline
further to $210.9 billion by FY 2010. Senate opposition to
higher levels of cuts in Medicaid and possibly Medicare forced the
budget conferees to move away from an earlier compromise, an estimated
$41 billion for reconciliation.
“We want to send
thanks to House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) and
Senate Budget Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) for taking into consideration
the importance of maintaining the current farm and safety net program,”
said Corzine. “They finalized a budget that is not only good
policy but is beneficial to corn growers and all Americans. The
next step for NCGA and our members will be working together and
developing policy and an agenda for the upcoming discussions of
the 2007 Farm Bill.”
For more information
on the budget resolution bill, please click on the following link
http://www.house.gov/budget/.