No New Revenue Raisers for Farm Bill
To Come From Senate Finance Committee



By Brett Ferguson

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Sept. 18 that he will offer a fully offset $8 billion-$10 billion tax package that will free up some money for the Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition Committee's farm bill, but it will not include any new revenue-raising measures.

Baucus told reporters that his package, which includes several tax provisions that had earlier been in the Senate Finance Committee's stalled energy tax title, "is lining up pretty firmly," but will offer "way less" help to the Agriculture Committee than the $20 billion that the panel's chairman, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), had sought.

In fact, while Baucus's proposal will provide for some new tax credits that will take the place of some spending on conservation programs, the package will not include any revenue offsets on farm bill spending.

Baucus' plan includes incentives for clean fuel production and would create a new category of tax credit bonds for projects such as rural electric and telemedicine, rural broadband, and other rural economic development community projects. Also, it would aim to increase and improve the "Aggie Bond" loans available to first-time farmers and ranchers (176 DTR G-4, 9/12/07 ).

Participants in farm bill conservation programs, such as the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Grassland Reserve Program, and the Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program, currently receive cash payments for enrolling in these programs, but Baucus's proposal would allow participants in certain conservation programs to choose to receive tax credits instead of cash payments for easements.

The Baucus proposal also would create a permanent trust fund to help ranchers and farmers hurt by crop and livestock losses.