FOXNews.com: House takes up relief bill for livestock producers

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House takes up relief bill for livestock producers Aug 2nd 2012, 17:16 The House on Thursday took up legislation to help livestock producers who have seen feed prices soar as widespread drought takes a toll on the nation's corn crop. Action on the disaster relief package came hours before Congress was to adjourn for its August recess.  The legislation, while unlikely to receive Senate consideration before the five-week vacation, may deflect complaints that Congress is ignoring both the short-term crisis facing farmers and the need to bring about long-term changes in farm policy.  While many farmers of corn and other crops have insurance that provides some protection from the effects of the worst drought in a quarter-century, cattle and sheep producers are vulnerable to sharp increases in feed prices resulting from the dry weather.  The price of corn has risen 50 percent since June because of the drought, said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.  The bill would restore four disaster aid programs, mostly for livestock producers and tree farmers, that expired last year. The estimated cost, $383 million, would be paid for by imposing caps on two conservation programs. The disaster programs would be restored for the 2012 budget year.  The legislation faces opposition from conservation and anti-tax groups who see it as another government bailout.  "We need the very conservation programs in the farm bill that are being gutted for this big government bailout of cows," said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.  The vote on the disaster relief bill comes as House Republican leaders fend off criticisms for not bringing up a five-year farm and nutrition bill to replace the current farm bill, which expires at the end of September.  The Senate in June passed, on a bipartisan vote, legislation to revise crop subsidy programs, eliminating direct payments to farmers even when they don't plant crops while authorizing nearly $100 billion a year for subsidy, conservation and food stamp programs. The House Agriculture Committee last month approved similar legislation.  But the House GOP leadership has resisted bringing the bill to the floor, leery of a potential rebellion from conservative lawmakers against spending levels in the bill -- particularly the nearly $80 billion a year for the food stamp program, which provides food aid to some 46 million people. Some Democrats, in turn, oppose the bill because it cuts 2 percent, or $1.6 billion a year, from the food stamp program.  House leaders last week proposed legislation that would have combined disaster relief with a one-year extension of the existing farm law. That was widely criticized by farm groups, who said farmers need the certainty of a new five-year bill, and Senate Democrats, who warned that it was a ploy to block consideration of the new bill. The one-year extension idea was abandoned this week.  "We do not oppose passage of a disaster assistance bill, but note that almost identical provisions to retroactively extend these four programs are included" in the Senate and House farm bills, farm groups representing corn, soybean, wheat, milk and other growers wrote in a statement expressing disappointment that Congress was leaving without taking up the long-term farm bill.  "Farmers and ranchers always face decisions that carry very serious financial ramifications, such as planting a crop, buying land or building a herd, and we need clear and confident signals from our lawmakers," they wrote.  The Environmental Working Group's vice president of government affairs, Scott Faber, said his group opposed the disaster aid bill because of the cuts to conservation programs. Livestock producers "certainly need assistance during this historic drought. But the proposal would cut the very conservation programs that help farmers mitigate drought conditions."  House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said Tuesday it was still his priority to pass a five-year bill. "The challenges our farmers and ranchers are currently facing only underscores how important it is that we complete a five-year farm bill this year."  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday that some 3.8 million acres of conservation land would be opened for emergency haying and grazing to bring relief to livestock producers dealing with shortages of hay and pastureland. He also said farmers would be given an extra 30 days to make insurance premium payments this year without incurring interest penalties on unpaid premiums.  Vilsack also signed disaster designations for an additional 218 counties in 12 states. Half of all counties in the country have been designated disaster areas by the Agriculture Department in 2012, mainly due to drought.  Also on Thursday, some 135 lawmakers wrote Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson urging her to relax government rules requiring that a certain percentage of corn production go to making ethanol for transportation fuel.  "Relief from the Renewable Fuels Standard is extremely urgent because another short corn crop would be devastating to the animal agriculture industry, food manufacturers, food service providers, as well as consumers," said the letter sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Mike McIntyre, D-N.C. They said about 40 percent of the corn crop now goes into ethanol production.

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