By Jon H. Harsch

© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.

Washington, Feb. 13 – Obama Cabinet members and White House officials will be working overtime this week, answering lawmakers' questions in a slew of congressional hearings focused on the administration's fiscal 2012 budget being released Monday. Expect to hear the administration's witnesses explain why “investments” are urgently needed to keep the recovery going.

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has already made the opposite case: “We're broke,” he says – and therefore can't afford to continue spending. This week's many Senate hearings should tend to reinforce the administration's case – while the House hearings make their case in the hearing titles, such as the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee's hearings on “Unfunded Mandates and Regulatory Overreach” and on “Waste and Abuse: The Refuse of the Federal Spending Binge.”

Even as Secretaries Vilsack, Geithner, Sebelius, Chu, Solis and others are testifying on the Hill, Boehner's Republican-led House will start work on the GOP proposal to cut spending for this fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, by far more than the Boehner leadership initially proposed: not $74 billion, but by at least $100 billion compared to what President Obama had proposed in federal spending for this year. Because the GOP is allowing floor amendments on H.R. 1 in this week's debate on the budget bill, expect fireworks – with Democrats blasting Republicans for draconian cuts at the expense of not just women and infants, but firemen, policemen, teachers and students. More fireworks are likely from Tea Party legislators who insists that even greater cuts are needed.

Key events and meetings this week, selecting only those congressional hearings with implications for the farm sector:

Monday, Feb. 14

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  • Ambassador Sapiro will meet with Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Gabriel Silva, then travel to Geneva, Switzerland to participate in the Doha Round discussions.

  • USA Rice Federation Government Affairs Conference Mon. through Thurs.

  • A coalition of nutrition groups led by the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Salt Institute propose replacing USDA's Dietary Guidelines with a saturated-fats-friendly alternative featuring four food groups: “animal foods; grains, legumes & nuts; vegetables & fruits; and healthy fats.”

  • USDA reports: USDA Agricultural Projections to 2020, Livestock and Meat Trade Data, Farm Income and Costs, Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook, U.S. Agricultural Trade Data Update.

Tuesday, Feb. 15

  • House Financial Services Committee hearing on Assessing the Regulatory, Economic and Market Implications of the Dodd-Frank Derivatives Title, with CFTC Chair Gary Gensler, Securities & Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro, Federal Reserve Board Member Daniel K. Tarullo, and six derivatives industry witnesses.

  • House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing on implementation of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Part II.

  • House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing on the various definitions of rural applied under programs operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

  • House Ways & Means Committee hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Proposal with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

  • House Budget Committee hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012, with OMB Director Jacob Lew.

  • Senate Budget Committee hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012, with OMB Director Jacob Lew.

  • Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee hearing to examine green jobs and trade.

  • Senate Finance Committee hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012, with Secretary of Health and Human Kathleen Sebelius.

  • House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on “Does the U.S. have a Policy toward Latin America? Assessing the Impact to U.S. Interests and Allies.”

  • House Education Subcommittee hearing on Investigating OSHA's Regulatory Agenda and Its Impact on Job Creation.

  • House Oversight Subcommittee hearing on Unfunded Mandates And Regulatory Overreach.

  • National Black Farmers Association President Dr. John W. Boyd discusses “Justice In Jeopardy: Black Farmers Face New Troubles” at the National Press Club, to explain that confusion over the settlement and claims process could leave thousands of black farmers without compensation.

  • Farm Foundation Forum on Agriculture as a Provider of Environmental Services.

  • USDA reports: Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook, Aquaculture Data, Potato Stocks.

Wednesday, Feb. 16

  • Joint House Agriculture Subcommittee and House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on reducing the regulatory burdens posed by the case National Cotton Council v. EPA (6th Cir. 2009) and to review related draft legislation.

  • House Budget Committee hearing on the Department of the Treasury Fiscal Year 2012 Budget, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

  • House Ways & Means Committee hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Proposal, with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

  • House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Final Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, with testimony from the commission's members.

  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine the U.S. Department of Energy's budget for fiscal year 2012, with Energy Secretary Stephen Chu.

  • House Education Committee hearing on Policies and Priorities at the U.S. Department of Labor, with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

  • Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing to examine safeguarding our future, focusing on building a nationwide network for first responders.

  • Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to examine national leaders' call to action on transportation, with U.S. Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Tom Donohue.

  • Senate Finance Committee hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

  • House Judiciary hearing on the Constitutionality of the Individual Mandate in the new healthcare law.

  • USDA reports: Broiler Hatchery, Crop Values, Turkey Hatchery.

Thursday, Feb. 17

  • House Agriculture Committee hearing to review the state of the farm economy, with Agriculture Sec. Vilsack.

  • Senate Agriculture Committee hearing to examine agriculture and growing America's economy, with Agriculture Sec. Vilsack, Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Keith Creagh, National Corn Growers Association President Fred Yoder, Texas A&M Economist Dr. Joe Outlaw, and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig.

  • Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing to examine Dodd-Frank financial reform implementation, focusing on a progress report by the regulators at the half-year mark.

  • Senate Budget Committee hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2012 and revenue proposals, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

  • Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S. policy toward Latin America.

  • House Science, Space & Technology Committee hearing on the administration’s Federal Research and Development Budget for Fiscal Year 2012, with White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Dr. John P. Holdren.

  • USDA reports: Meat Price Spreads, Vegetables and Melons Outlook, U.S. and Canadian Hogs, U.S. and Canadian Cattle and Sheep, Farm Labor.

Friday, Feb. 18

  • USDA reports: Wheat Data, Feed Grains Database, Dairy Products Prices, Cattle on Feed, Milk Production, Peanut Prices.

To add your event to our calendar, please e-mail us at: jon@agri-pulse.com

For other Agri-Pulse news stories, go to: www.agri-pulse.com

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