By Sara Wyant
© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.
WASHINGTON, June 19 – As more and more financial market analysts express concern about whether Washington will deal with historic deficits and debt levels,some lawmakers plan to keep working on getting a deal done sooner, rather than waiting for the Aug. 2. deadline for raising the debt limit.
“Progress is being made,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday. Durbin, who is the second ranking Senate Democrat, also warned against waiting until the last minute to cut a deal.
“We shouldn’t wait until high noon to pass this debt ceiling,” emphasized Durbin, “It will mean higher interest rates if we don’t.”
But South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spoke on the same Sunday morning show, made it clear that no GOP Senator will support the higher taxes that many Democrats are demanding. However, he said that some would be willing to give up tax deductions and therefore, generate more revenue.
“One way to do that is to do away with ethanol subsidies,” noted Graham.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed that Republicans are really interested in corporate tax reform and “for that matter, tax reform across the board,” when he appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program Sunday morning. “But it's hard to squeeze that into this time limit we have in connection with the deficit. So we need to concentrate on cutting spending.”
“If we can't do something really significant about the debt ceiling, that is really a large comprehensive plan that includes entitlement reform…..then we'll probably end up with a very short-term proposal over, you know, a few months,” McConnell added. “And we'll be back having the same discussion again in the fall.”
After a week in which House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., watched fellow lawmakers hold three days of debate and take shots at a wide variety of farm programs, his subcommittees are jumping into high gear on a series of hearings this week. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., also holds another Farm Bill hearing, focused on “accountability.”
For more hearings and events this week:
Monday June 20, 2011:
The Senate and the House are in session at 2 p.m.
USDA Reports: Catfish Feed Deliveries, Catfish Processing, Feed Grains Database, Wheat Data, Crop Progress
Tuesday June 21, 2011:
10:00 a.m., Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging will hold a hearing on “Senior Hunger and the Older Americans Act”. 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
12:00 p.m., The World Food Prize Foundation will announce the winner of the prestigious 2011 World Food Prize at the 25th Anniversary Laureate Announcement Ceremony at the U.S. Department of State. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will give the keynote address, and other speakers include Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. In addition, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, will announce the winner of this year’s prize and highlight the laureate’s achievements. The Benjamin Franklin Room of the Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, D.C.
2:00 p.m., Congress Joint Economic Committee, will hold a hearing titled, “Spend Less, Owe Less, Grow the Economy”. 1100 Longworth House Office Building.
3:00 p.m., Deputy Secretary Merrigan will deliver remarks in at the Feed the Future Research Forum being held at the Washington Convention Center. The forum will be attended by stakeholders from the United States and international research communities.
4:00 p.m., House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment and Economy will hold a Markup, on H.R. 1391, the Recycling Coal Combustion Residuals Accessiblility Act of 2011. 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
USDA Reports: Chicken and Eggs
Wednesday June 22, 2011:
10:00 a.m., House of Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry will hold a hearing titled, “Agricultural Program Audit: Examination of conservation programs”. 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Oversight Hearing on “Opportunities for Outdoor Recreation on Public Lands”. 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, will hold a full committee hearing on NOAA’s Climate Service Proposal. 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Small Business, will hold a hearing titled, “The State of Small Business Access to Capital and Credit: The View from Secretary Geithner”. 2360 Rayburn House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., Senate Committee on Finance will hold a hearing titled, “Preserving Integrity, Preventing Overpayments, and Eliminating Fraud n the Unemployment Insurance System”. 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
10:15 a.m., Congress Joint Economic Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Manufacturing in the USA: Why We Need a National Manufacturing Strategy?” The hearing will explore recent progress in the manufacturing sector and examine strategies and policies that will further bolster U.S. manufacturing growth in the future. Recent growth in manufacturing has played a key role in the economic recovery. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector has increased for 22 consecutive months and manufacturing employment has rebounded from its low, adding almost 250,000 jobs since December 2009. 216 Hart Senate Office Building.
USDA Reports: Cold Storage, Broiler Hatchery
Thursday June 23, 2011:
9:30 a.m., Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, will hold a hearing titled, “Farm Bill Accountability: The Importance of Measuring Performance, While Eliminating Duplications and Waste”. G50 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a hearing on H.R. 2170, the Cutting Federal Red Tape to Facilitate Renewable Energy Act; H.R. 2171, the Exploring for Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands Act; H.R. 2172, the Utilizing America's Federal lands H.R. 2173, Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act. 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on the Budget, will hold a full committee hearing on, “The Congressional Budget Office’s Long-Term Budget Outlook”. 210 Cannon House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing titled, “Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program” 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
10:00 a.m., Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a full committee hearing titled, “Stories from the Kitchen Table: How Middle Class Families are Struggling to Make Ends Meet”. 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
11:00 a.m., House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture will hold a hearing, “To review the opportunities and benefits of agricultural biotechnology”. 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
2:30 p.m., Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power, will hear testimony on eight items: S. 500, the South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act; S. 715, the Collinsville Renewable Energy Promotion Act; S. 802, the Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011; S. 997, the East Bench Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act; S. 1033, to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the city of Hermiston, Oregon, water recycling and reuse project, and for other purposes; S. 1047, the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel Act of 2011. S. 1224, the Bureau of Reclamation Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2011. S. 1225, the Fort Sumner Project Title Conveyance Act. 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
USDA Reports: U.S. Export Sales, Cherry Production, Vegetables and Melons Outlook
Friday June 25, 2011:
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management will hold a hearing titled, “Agricultural Program Audit: Examination of crop insurance programs”. 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs, will hold an oversight hearing on "Why We Should Care About Bats: Devastating Impact White-Nose Syndrome is Having on One of Nature’s Best Pest Controllers". 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
10:00 a.m., House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, will hold a hearing titled, “Running Roughshod Over States and Stakeholders: EPA’s Nutrient Policies”. 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.
USDA Reports: Livestock Slaughter, Dairy Products Prices, Peanut Prices, Quarterly Hogs and Pigs, Coffee: World Markets and Trade, Monthly Milk Cost of Production
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