House Agriculture Committee Completes Farm Bill Markup: No Mandatory Funds for Energy Title

The House Agriculture Committee completed its markup of the 2012 Farm Bill. After more than 100 amendments were offered and considered, the Committee approved a bill that was little changed from the original Chairman’s mark. An amendment to provide mandatory funds for rural energy programs was introduced, but then withdrawn. The bill moves next to the House floor for further debate and amendment.

In the wee hours of the morning July 12, the House Agriculture Committee completed its markup of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act (H.R. 6083) , approving the bill with a bipartisan vote of 35-11. The bill would reduce mandatory spending on nutrition, agriculture, conservation, and rural energy programs by a total of $35 billion over the next ten years, including cuts of $16 billion from nutrition programs, $14 billion from commodity support programs, and $6 billion from conservation programs. Read the press release from Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) here .

Representative Leonard Boswell (D-IA) offered an amendment to provide mandatory funding for the energy title programs, but subsequently withdrew it following a brief discussion. As such, the bill provides no mandatory funding for bioenergy and other renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, a dramatic cut from the more than $1 billion in mandatory spending provided in the 2008 Farm Bill. The bill would authorize up to $1.4 billion in discretionary funding over the next five years, subject to the discretion the Appropriations Committee year-to-year.

On July 10, EESI sent this letter to the House Agriculture Committee urging mandatory funding for energy title programs.

The next opportunity to amend the bill will be during the floor debate. As previously reported , Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) has introduced Rural Energy Investment Act of 2012 (H.R. 5955) , which would provide $1.25 billion in mandatory spending and $1.4 billion in discretionary spending for energy title programs. The bill currently has 19 cosponsors. It is uncertain whether the House leadership will bring the bill to the floor for debate before the August recess, which begins August 4.

To compare proposed funding levels for energy programs between the 2008 Farm Bill, and the 2012 House, Senate, and the Kaptur bills, see our previous SBFF post here .