WASHINGTON, D.C.)  U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, today raised concerns in a letter sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the department to take deficit reduction seriously.  The Senators questioned USDA’s willingness to target farm safety net programs while protecting discretionary programs despite steady increases in the last two budget cycles.  They also stressed that efforts to change rules in the middle of a farm bill only breed uncertainty and affects planting decisions, farm lending, equipment purchases and land values.

“We openly question why USDA would require ‘flexibility’ from OMB to cut mandatory farm safety net programs to meet discretionary funding reductions,” said the Senators in the letter.  “While the total cost of the discretionary fiscal year 2011 budget request was lower than the fiscal year 2010 appropriations act, the cost savings was largely achieved through increased savings from mandatory programs, not from true discretionary savings.  Simply put, honest budgeting requires that discretionary savings come from reductions to discretionary programs.  We believe the President’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 should be based on honest budgeting.”

Source : Senate Commitee Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry