"Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways & Means Committee Chair Barney Frank still have to agree on the offsets," Leach writes. "House and Senate conferees still need to vote on various other issues." And there's still a question about whether President Bush will sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. (Read more)
UPDATES: While the two committee chairs agree to a "broad outline" for a new Farm Bill that is about $10 billion over the budget baseline for the next 10 years, "neither side agrees on the ways to come up with the extra money," reports Dan Looker of Agriculture Online. He reports that the main sticking points are the disaster aid program (which the Senate version funds with $4 billion) and tax cuts (worth $2.5 billion) for farmers. Committee members discussed those issues during yesterday's conference committee meeting, and they will renew the debate during today's meeting. Still, "House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) said he isn't optimistic that a farm bill will be finished unless the financing issues are resolved," Looker writes. (Read more) With Friday's expiration of an extension that was supposed to be the last one, the impasse "raises the specter of a new farm law that won't spend more money than authorized by last year's Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline for farm programs," notes Peter Shinn of Brownfield Network. (Read more)
Here is a full list of members of the conference committee (thanks to the Iowa Independent):
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn.
Rep. Tim Holden, D-Penn.
Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.
Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C.
Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa
Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif.
Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif.
Rep. David Scott, D-Ga.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. (Education and Labor)
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y. (Education and Labor)
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. (Energy and Commerce)
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. (Energy and Commerce)
Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn. (Financial Services)
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. (Financial Services)
Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. (Foreign Affairs)
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. (Foreign Affairs)
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. (Judiciary)
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va. (Judiciary)
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V. (Natural Resources)
Delegate Madeline Bordallo, D-Guam (Natural Resources)
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. (Oversight and Government Reform)
Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. (Oversight and Government Reform)
Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn. (Science and Technology)
Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas (Science and Technology)
Rep. Nydia Velasquez, D-N.Y. (Small Business)
Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C. (Small Business)
Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn. (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C. (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.(Ways and Means)
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. (Ways and Means)
Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte of Virginia
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla.
Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C.
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo.
Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas
Rep. Todd Platts, R-Penn. (Education and Labor)
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas (Energy and Commerce)
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala. (Financial Services)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. (Foreign Affairs)
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas (Judiciary)
Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Wash. (Natural Resources)
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio (Oversight and Government Reform)
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas (Science and Technology)
Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio (Small Business)
Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo. (Transportation and Infrastructure)
Rep. Jim McCrery, R-La. (Ways and Means)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla.
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