Washington, DC – The full House Agriculture Committee met on Tuesday to begin drafting the 2007 Farm Bill.

    Congressman Randy Neugebauer, who is a member of the Committee, urged his colleagues to keep in place many of the current commodity programs that have proven successful for both American agriculture and taxpayers.  Neugebauer pointed to that success during his opening statement that he gave on Tuesday.

   Current policies have been “providing support when prices are low and pulling back when prices are better,” said Neugebauer.  “By the end of this year, the projection is that farm programs will have cost $25 billion less than estimated when the 2002 Farm Bill passed.  That is $25 billion of deficit reduction contributed by farm programs.”

   The full committee negotiations are expected to continue through much of the week, with full day sessions scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

   “The Ag Committee has gathered input from producers from across the nation, and this is the week when that input starts to become policy,” said Neugebauer.  “I hope we can work together to write a Farm Bill that is good for America and for American agriculture.”