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The update and actions below are from April and are no longer current but give you an idea of the final push and conference members...

Conferees | Call now | Other actions

Update

The countdown has begun to the April 18 deadline to extend the current farm bill or complete a new one. Negotiations continue among House, Senate, and administration to reach a compromise on how much farm bill spending will be allowed, how it will be paid for, and how it will be distributed among the titles. In order to enact a final farm bill, the House and Senate must pass identical versions of the bill, which the president must then sign.

Bread for the World urges Congress to approve, at a minimum, the spending increase for nutrition programs approved by the House last summer -- $11.5 billion over 10 years. With so many families in the United States already struggling to put food on the table, and a looming economic recession that would hit low-income families hardest, Congress must ensure that this farm bill strengthens the safety net against hunger.

Both the House and Senate bills are better than they would have been without our hard work. Also, nearly 300 newspapers have editorialized in favor of reform, and surveys show that most voters now understand that there are serious problems in the current farm bill.

Conferees

* If your Senator or Congressperson is on the Farm Bill Conference, they need to hear from you!

Senate
Democratic Senators:
Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-MT);
Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Kent Conrad (D-ND);
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT);
Senate Agriculture Committee Member Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Senate Agriculture Committee Member Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

Republican Senators:
Ranking Member (Ag committee) Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Former Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN),
Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Charles Grassley (R-IA);
Ranking Member Senate Appropriations Committee, Thad Cochran (R-MS);
Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS)

House
The Democratic Members of Congress selected to serve on the conference committee are:

From the Agriculture Committee:
Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota
Congressman Tim Holden of Pennsylvania
Congressman Mike McIntyre of North Carolina
Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina
Congressman Leonard Boswell of Iowa
Congressman Joe Baca of California
Congressman Dennis Cardoza of California
Congressman David Scott of Georgia

Conferees on Farm Bill provisions with jurisdiction beyond the Agriculture Committee:
Congressman George Miller of California (Education and Labor)
Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy of New York (Education and Labor)
Congressman John Dingell of Michigan (Energy and Commerce)
Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey (Energy and Commerce)
Congressman Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania (Financial Services)
Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California (Financial Services)
Congressman Howard Berman of California (Foreign Affairs)
Congressman Brad Sherman of California (Foreign Affairs)
Congressman John Conyers of Michigan (Judiciary)
Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia (Judiciary)
Congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia (Natural Resources)
Delegate Madeline Bordallo of Guam (Natural Resources)
Congressman Henry Waxman of California (Oversight and Government Reform)
Congressman Edolphus Towns of New York (Oversight and Government Reform)
Congressman Bart Gordon of Tennessee (Science and Technology)
Congressman Nick Lampson of Texas (Science and Technology)
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez of New York (Small Business)
Congressman Heath Shuler of North Carolina (Small Business)
Congressman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Congressman Charles Rangel of New York (Ways and Means)
Congressman Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota (Ways and Means)

The Republican Members of Congress selected to serve on the conference committee are:

From the Agriculture Committee:
Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte of Virginia
Congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma
Congressman Jerry Moran of Kansas
Congressman Robin Hayes of North Carolina
Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado
Congressman Randy Neugebauer of Texas

Conferees on Farm Bill provisions with jurisdiction beyond the Agriculture Committee:
Congressman Todd Platts of Pennsylvania (Education and Labor)
Congressman Joe Barton of Texas (Energy and Commerce)
Congressman Spencer Bachus of Alabama (Financial Services)
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida (Foreign Affairs)
Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas (Judiciary)
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington (Natural Resources)
Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio (Oversight and Government Reform)
Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas (Science and Technology)
Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio (Small Business)
Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Congressman Jim McCrery of Louisiana (Ways and Means)

The Members of Congress selected from Leadership to serve on the conference committee are:
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut
Congressman Adam Putnam of Florida

Call your House Representative and Senators at 1-800-826-3688 with the following message. Or you can write a quick email through the PC(USA) Legislative Alert Center.If you need to find out who your congresspersons are, go to the PC(USA) Washington Office's Capwiz to find out who they are and how to contact them.

Please establish commodity subsidy payment limits and fully fund conservation, rural development and nutrition programs in the Farm Bill. Also make available $10 million in annual mandatory funds for minority and low-income farmers through Section 2501.

Other Actions

Take action above or download and act on the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's Farm Bill Action Center's alerts:

• Oppose USDA's 'Naturally-Raised' Meat Label Claim - Deadline Extended to March 3, 2008
• Urge Ag Committee Leaders to Fund Sustainable Ag Priorities in 2008 Farm Bill
• Urge Ag Committee Leaders to Include a Strong Livestock Title in 2008 Farm Bill

Subscribe to Farm Bill Updates and Action Alerts

From God's initial command to be good stewards of creation to the Prophets' call for justice among governments and nations, people of faith in every age are called together to work for the common good.

Inspired by Jesus' command to care for poor and hungry people, we join together to support policies that promote economic justice, strengthen rural communities at home and around the world, care for the land as God's creation, foster right relations among nations and achieve an end to hunger.

Contact Andrew Kang Bartlett to get more involved

Farm Bill Home

"justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field." (James 3:18)

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