Could the Deficit Reduction Committee Decide Farm Policy?
Kate Fitzgerald

On October 17, Congress’s four agriculture policy leaders sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter (http://stabenow.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=502 ) to the deficit-cutting “super committee” offering to make $23 billion in spending cuts to programs under their jurisdiction.  The twelve member Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (better known as the super committee) has been tasked with coming up with a proposal to cut government spending by at least $1.2 trillion over ten years.  The ag leaders’ hope is that by agreeing on a significant dollar value of cuts and offering consensus on which programs would be cut they could forestall worse.  Continue reading →