Press Releases

General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Farm Bill Field Hearing Schedule

(June 6, 2001)

General Farm Commodities Subcommittee Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has announced a series of field hearings to provide producers opportunity to discuss in depth how individual farm programs affect them. Expanding on last year's groundbreaking series of full committee hearings in rural communities, the General Farm Commodities Subcommittee hearings during June explore the structure of loan rates, aspects of continuing the current transition payments, the trigger mechanisms for counter-cyclical income support, as well as other farm bill components.

The Subcommittee hearings will be held at the following dates and locations:

Monday, June 11 at 9 a.m. (Central Time) – Glencoe, Minnesota

Glencoe-Silver Lake High School Auditorium

1621 East 16th Street

Monday, June 18 at 3 p.m. (Pacific Time) – Fresno, California

Assembly Room of State Building

2550 Mariposa Mall

Saturday, June 23 at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) – Macon, Georgia

Wesleyan College Porter Auditorium

4760 Forsyth Road

"I want producers to comment on the proposed farm programs and how those issues related to the commodity programs hinder them from operating in the most efficient manner. It will be beneficial for members of the Subcommittee to hear from farmers on how we can improve on proposals and existing programs as we move to complete the reauthorization of the farm bill," Chambliss explained. "There are a lot of farmers out there who spend an awful lot of time on tractors thinking about how Washington could tinker with programs to make them better."

The full Agriculture Committee has been setting the stage for the new farm bill for the last two years, beginning with a series of field hearings on general farm policy, followed by a comprehensive look at farm policy proposals from fifteen commodity groups.

Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX), discussing the field hearings said, "These hearings are an important part of the Committee's work as we complete the farm bill. As subcommittee members bring their impressions back to the full Committee, they will have a great deal of valuable information that will be helpful to us as we complete the farm bill this year." Chairman Combest anticipates writing an entire farm bill by early August, to make the comprehensive agricultural legislation available for House consideration as early as September.

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