WASHINGTON,
May 17, 2013 – The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee’s
amended farm bill (S.
954) would reduce direct spending by $17.8 billion and increase revenues by
$54 million over a 10-year period, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report
today. The increased revenue is attributed to language which would enable creation of an organic product promotion checkoff.
CBO said it estimates direct spending stemming from the program authorization in S. 954 would total $955 billion over the 2014-2023 period. The report said the 10-year total reflects the bill’s authorization of expiring programs through 2018 and an extension of those authorizations through 2023.
CBO also said it estimates that implementing the bill would cost $30.1 billion over the
2014-2018 period and $39.9 billion over the 2014-2023 period.
The draft bill, before the committee amended it, would have reduced direct spending by $18 billion and provided no additional revenue, according to the CBO.
The committee approved its bill May 14 on a 15-5 vote. The full Senate is expected to take up the bill next week.
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