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Backstory behind the cotton-dairy deal
Story Date: 2/13/2018
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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/12/18
The overhaul of cotton and dairy programs in the $300 billion budget and disaster-aid package, H.R. 1892 (115), that Congress passed on Friday was the culmination of a years-long lobbying campaign by the two agriculture industries. But the deal to boost subsidies for cotton and dairy producers was not always a sure thing, as proved by several previous failed attempts to slip similar provisions in annual spending legislation.
What worked: This time around, several factors had to align in favor of the negotiators, including less pressure to offset additional spending and a understanding among lawmakers that cotton and dairy assistance had to be tied together in the same package, reports Pro Ag's Catherine Boudreau.
What didn't work: One failed attempt last April to slip the provisions in a fiscal 2017 omnibus government spending bill left lawmakers - including House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway and Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow - particularly bitter. But it also marked a turning point, in that it promoted Senate Appropriations leaders, Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), to gather a meeting among the major stakeholders. Those included the National Cotton Council and National Milk Producers Federation, as well as Conaway and Stabenow.
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