Signed by President George Bush

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report on a bill to reauthorize agricultural programs for an additional six years.

Highlights:

• Increases direct and mandatory farm program by $73.5 billion over 10 years.

• Continues fixed direct payments from Freedom to Farm Act of 1996.

• Provides supplemental payment to farmers for first two years after bill's enactment if a particular commodity price drops below a certain level, but caps annual payment amount at $360,000 per individual.

• $17.1 billion over 10 years for a variety of conservation programs, including water conservation, wildlife preservation, wetlands restoration, and soil programs.

• $1.1 billion to build, expand, and sustain foreign markets for US agricultural products.

• Increases nutrition program spending, which includes food stamp programs, by $8.1 billion over 10 years.

• Restores food stamp eligibility to blind or disabled legal immigrants, legal immigrants who are minors, and legal immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years.

• Extends both the dairy price support program and the dairy export incentive program through 2007.

• Requires that country of origin labels be placed on various food products and to label products "made in the United States," they must have been created, raised and processed inside the U.S. beginning 2 years after the enactment of this law.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report on a bill to reauthorize agricultural programs for an additional six years.

Highlights:

• Increases direct and mandatory farm program by $73.5 billion over 10 years.

• Continues fixed direct payments from Freedom to Farm Act of 1996.

• Provides supplemental payment to farmers for first two years after bill's enactment if a particular commodity price drops below a certain level, but caps annual payment amount at $360,000 per individual.

• $17.1 billion over 10 years for a variety of conservation programs, including water conservation, wildlife preservation, wetlands restoration, and soil programs.

• $1.1 billion to build, expand, and sustain foreign markets for US agricultural products.

• Increases nutrition program spending, which includes food stamp programs, by $8.1 billion over 10 years.

• Restores food stamp eligibility to blind or disabled legal immigrants, legal immigrants who are minors, and legal immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years.

• Extends both the dairy price support program and the dairy export incentive program through 2007.

• Requires that country of origin labels be placed on various food products and to label products "made in the United States," they must have been created, raised and processed inside the U.S. beginning 2 years after the enactment of this law.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that would reauthorize federal agricultural programs, in such areas as rural development, food aid, price supports, and conservation, for a five year period.

Highlights:

• Continues fixed direct payments from Freedom to Farm Act of 1996 at the 2002 levels.

• Provides supplemental payment for farmers if a particular commodity price drops below a certain level, but caps annual payment amount at $275,000.

• Renews a price support program for milk through 2011 as part of a larger national dairy policy estimated to cost $2 billion.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill to authorize $167 billion over ten years for rural development, food aid, price supports, and conservation efforts.

Highlights:

• Continues fixed direct payments from Freedom to Farm Act of 1996.

• Provides supplemental payment for farmers if a particular commodity price drops below a certain level, but caps annual payment amount at $550,000.

• $5 billion annually through 2012 for corn, wheat, soybeans, rice and cotton producers.

• Eliminates a marketing tax on sugar through 2011, at a cost of $440 million.

• Renews a price support program for milk through 2011, at a cost of $773 million.

• $16 billion through 2011 for soil, water, and wildlife programs.

• $10.3 billion through 2011 for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program.

• $1.4 billion through 2011 for the Conservation Reserve Program.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text