House Ag Chair Says Crop Subsidies Should Be Paid For 2013; Committee Meets Next Week

"This is the law of the land," Chairman Lucas declares about direct payments...
The House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), will hold its first full meeting of the 113th Congress next Wednesday, Jan. 23, the Committee announced today, to "consider organizational matters" for the months ahead.   There are a number of new members; the new rosters for the House and Senate Agriculture Committee are here.

With the battle to create a new Farm Bill looming, Lucas this week said he expects farmers to be paid the crop subsidies for 2013 promised to them under the extended version of the expired Farm Bill, which was passed as part of President Obama's fiscal cliff tax legislation.  The President and some lawmakers have pledged to eliminate the estimated $5 billion in annual direct payments, and Congress, in upcoming budget wrangling, could redirect the funds. These are typically issued in the Fall.

"While farmers and ranchers have been denied the five years of certainty a new farm bill would provide, folks in Washington need to stop the guessing game about farm policy for the 2013 crop year, especially with respect to direct payments," Lucas said in a statement to DTN. 

"The existing safety net was extended a year to provide the certainty producers need for the 2013 crop year. This is the law of the land. Anyone familiar with the business of agriculture knows that producers across the country are making spring planting decisions and securing operating loans as we speak. And, I fully expect sign-up for the 2013 crop year--including direct payments--to begin as soon as possible.

Lucas added that the new Farm Bill his Committee will markup will "honor the commitment Congress made to growers when it extended the 2008 farm bill to cover the 2013 crop year."

Wednesday's meeting will be at 11:00 AM, at the 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
Washington, D.C..

Senate And House Agriculture Committees Announce Rosters For 113th Congress

Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Frank Lucas will continue as chairs...
As Congress prepares to tackle the next Farm Bill, the Agriculture Committees in both chambers will have new Members for the 113th Congress, which was sworn in on Thursday.  The Senate committee, with twenty lawmakers, will again be led by Chairman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who is now in her second term as Chair.  In the House, Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) was reelected a few weeks ago to his second term as Chair, and will lead a 46-member committee. Both committees announced their rosters on Friday, with the House having previously announced five sub-committee chairmanships, listed below.
 
On the Senate Committee, there will be nine Republicans and 11 Democrats. The Republican members will be the same as in the 112th Congress, with the exception of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind) who was defeated in the primary election.  Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss), has asserted his authority and become the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, replacing Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan), who will continue to serve on the committee.

On the House Committee, there are currently 25 Republicans (seven are new), and 19 Democrats, with two vacancies left to fill on the Democratic side.  Ranking Member Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn) will continue in his post.

MEMBERS OF THE SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

Democrat
Chair:  Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

Max Baucus (D-Mont)

Michael Bennet (D-CO) 

Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA)

Joe Donnelly (D-Ind)

Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)

Tom Harkin (D-IA)

Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)

Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Republican
Ranking Member: Thad Cochrane (R-Miss)

John Boozman (R-ARK)

Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

Charles Grassley (R-IA) 

John Hoeven (R-ND)

Mike Johanns (R-NE)

Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Pat Roberts (R-Kan)

John Thune (R-SD)

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

Republican
Chair: Rep. Frank Lucas, (OK), Chairman

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA)

Rep. Steve King (IA)

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (TX)

Rep. Mike Rogers (AL)

Rep. K. Michael Conaway (TX)

Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA)

Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH)

Rep. Austin Scott (GA)

Rep. Scott Tipton (CO)

Rep. Steve Southerland (FL)

Rep. Rick Crawford (AR)

Rep. Martha Roby (AL)

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (TN)

Rep. Chris Gibson (NY)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (MO)

Rep. Reid Ribble (WI)

Rep. Kristi Noem (SD)

Rep. Dan Benishek (MI)

Rep. Jeff Denham (CA)

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA)

Rep. Richard Hudson (NC)

Rep. Rodney Davis (IL)

Rep. Chris Collins (NY)

Rep. Ted Yoho (FL)

Democrat
Ranking Member: Collin Peterson (MN-7)

Mike McIntyre (NC-7)

David Scott (GA-13)

Jim Costa (CA-16)

Tim Walz (MN-1)

Kurt Schrader (OR-5)

Marcia Fudge (OH-11)

Jim McGovern (MA-2)

Suzan DelBene (WA-1)

Gloria Negrete McLeod (CA-35)

Filemon Vela (TX-34)

Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-1)

Ann Kuster (NH-2)

Rick Nolan (MN-8)

Pete Gallego (TX-23)       

William Enyart (IL-12)       

Juan Vargas (CA-51)

Cheri Bustos (IL-17)

Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18)

Subcommittee Chairs
Rep. Steve King (IA-5):  Department Operations, Oversight, and Nutrition
Jurisdiction:  Agency oversight, review and analysis, special investigations, food stamps, nutrition and consumer programs.

Rep. K. Michael Conaway, (TX-11):  General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
Jurisdiction:  Program and markets related to cotton, cottonseed, wheat, feed grains, soybeans, oilseeds, rice, dry beans, peas, lentils, the Commodity Credit Corporation, risk management, including crop insurance, commodity exchanges, and specialty crops.

Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-5):  Conservation, Energy, and Forestry
Jurisdiction:  Soil, water, and resource conservation, small watershed program, energy and biobased energy production, rural electrification, forestry in general and forest reserves other than those created from the public domain.

Rep. Austin Scott (GA-8):  Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture
Jurisdiction:  Fruits and vegetables, honey and bees, marketing and promotion orders, plant pesticides, quarantine, adulteration of seeds and insect pests, and organic agriculture, research, education and extension, biotechnology and foreign agriculture assistance, and trade promotion programs, generally.

Rep. Rick Crawford (AR-1):  Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit
Jurisdiction: Livestock, dairy, poultry, meat, seafood and seafood products, inspection, marketing, and promotion of such commodities, aquaculture, animal welfare and grazing, rural development, farm security and family farming matters, and agricultural credit.

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