Web exclusive posted March 14, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. CST
On March 12, the U.S. Congress passed an extension of the 2002 farm bill to give Senate and House negotiators more time to work out the details of the new farm bill. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and the farm bill's Senate-House conference committee, said the short-term extension until April 18 is a sign of progress. "We wouldn't have opted for a short-term extension unless we had a strong level of confidence that a farm bill is within reach within a few more weeks," Harkin said.
"We continue to make progress on the farm bill," he added. "Talks continue on a bipartisan basis between Senate and House negotiators, and each day brings us closer to resolution." In the past week, chief negotiators from the House and Senate have met daily. "Our mission is to reach agreement on the framework within the $10 billion of new funding that we expect to be available," he said. "We want to maintain the main elements of the House- and Senate-passed bills."
A deal on a new farm bill is within reach, Harkin said. "Our biggest remaining challenge is to obtain the needed funds for the bill and to apportion that limited funding among the many competing priorities," he said, adding that the funding isn't confirmed yet, and necessary cooperation from the Bush Administration is needed. "I remain optimistic," he said. "I would not have introduced this extension unless I believed agreement was achievable within the next few weeks."
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