via a special arrangement with Informa Economics, Inc.
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Lucas and Peterson have unified strategy
The House Agriculture Committee is expected to make recommendations to the congressional Super Committee by mid-October. According to House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, he and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) hope to have a unified strategy in place by then. The strategy will address spending cuts to programs within the jurisdiction of the House Ag Committee.
Asked if the Super Committee would decide to pick and choose ag programs for elimination, Lucas said that would demand a response from the Committee -- and it might mean that the House Ag Committee would have to expedite the writing of the 2012 Farm Bill to provide a different looking safety net, especially if certain elements were eliminated.
Lucas said if the Super Committee cannot come up with a proposal that Congress and President Obama can agree on, sequestration (across-the-board triggered cuts) would occur starting in January of 2013. Cuts would be made across the board -- however not all programs would be subject to those cuts. Chairman Lucas said the House Ag Committee staff is studying which program cuts will fall under sequestration. He mentioned that perhaps CRP payments would be exempt -- while EQIP funding would see cuts under this concept.
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