CQ Politics

Conferees approved three of the 11 sections of a new five-year farm bill Tuesday, a small step toward finishing the measure before an extension of current law expires April 18.

House and Senate conferees unanimously agreed to the credit, trade and research titles of the bill, even though minor discrepancies remain between the two versions of the measure.

The conferees intend to meet again Wednesday, when Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin , D-Iowa, said they’ll likely adopt other titles of the bill, including nutrition, forestry and livestock.

IowaPolitics.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and 55 of his Senate colleagues today sent a bipartisan letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations seeking $489.6 million in this year’s supplemental appropriations bill for the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program. The additional funding would restore Byrne/JAG funding for fiscal year 2008 to $660 million – including $6 million for Iowa – the same level that the Senate originally provided for in the Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations bill that passed the Senate last year.