House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Passes Two Water Resource Related Bills; Reschedules Consideration of Three Others

This morning the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee took up and passed two of the five water-related bills it had originally scheduled for consideration today, and rescheduled consideration of the three remaining bills.

The two bills passed out of Committee were (with links to the bills in blue):

• H.R. 3158, sponsored by Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), which would specify how EPA should enforce spill-prevention rules for large containers on farms. 
• H.R. 5797, sponsored by Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN), which would exempt Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, from federal jurisdiction, in order to stop the U.S. Coast Guard from requiring fishing guides there from having to pay approximately $2,000 for boating licenses. 

Three of the five bills will be rescheduled for Committee consideration next week:

• H.R. 4278, cosponsored by Reps. Robert Hurt (R-VA) and Jason Altmire (D-PA), which would eliminate limits on the regulatory exemptions provided in the Clean Water Act for agricultural activities. 
• H.R. 2541, sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), which would prohibit the EPA from requiring a water pollution permit for silviculture.
• H.R. 5961, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), which would amend the Clean Water Act to prohibit the EPA from conducting aerial surveillance of farmland without voluntary written consent, public notice and a certification of reasonable suspicion that a violation has occurred.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to Consider Five Water Resource Related Bills Today

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a business meeting today at 10 AM (EDT) to consider and mark up five water resource related bills. The five bills scheduled for markup today are:

• H.R. 4278, cosponsored by Reps. Robert Hurt (R-VA) and Jason Altmire (D-PA), which would eliminate limits on the regulatory exemptions provided in the Clean Water Act for agricultural activities.
• H.R. 5961, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), which would amend the Clean Water Act to prohibit  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from conducting aerial surveillance of farmland without voluntary written consent, public notice and a certification of reasonable suspicion that a violation has occurred.
• H.R. 2541, sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), which would prohibit the EPA from requiring a water pollution permit for silviculture.
• H.R. 3158, sponsored by Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR), which would specify how EPA should enforce spill-prevention rules for large containers on farms.
• H.R. 5797, sponsored by Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN), which would exempt Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, from federal jurisdiction, in order to stop the U.S. Coast Guard from requiring fishing guides there from being forced to pay approximately $2,000 for boating licenses.

The Committee meeting will be held in room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building, and can be viewed live, streaming on-line, here.

On-Again, Off-Again Levee Construction Bill Back On (UPDATED: See Comment)

The U.S. House is scheduled to vote today (Monday, July 20) on a bill introduced by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that would direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to rebuild permanent levees on North Dakota lands acquired under a federal program for reclaiming floodplains (FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program). The bill (S 2039) was originally scheduled for a floor vote last Tuesday. However, that vote was cancelled, likely indicating the measure did not have the votes to pass. The bill certainly was not without its controversiy and detractors. Earlier in that week, American Rivers, the Association of State Floodplain Managers and the conservative "R Street Institute" had come out as opposing the levee carve-out bill.

The bill now being considered in the House was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate in January, and would create what Hoeven has called a "pilot project" in his home state, allowing a State or local government to "construct levees on certain properties otherwise designated as open space lands," and lifting a ban on federal levee construction on lands purchased under.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Drought, and its Real and Political Ramifications

The chronic drought took center stage this week, not only geographically in the nation's midsection, but also on the front pages of U.S. newspapers and magazines, in the hallowed Congressional halls on Capitol Hill and inside White House offices.  The July 17, U.S. Drought Monitor map showed increases in the area of the United States in all categories of drought, setting a record for the third consecutive week for the total area of the country in drought during the 12-year history of the map.  Here is the section of the drought monitor map for the Upper Mississippi River Basin and here the lower River Basin.  The drought shows no signs of releasing its grip any time soon.  The latest outlook released by the National Weather Service on Thursday forecasts increasingly dry conditions over much of the nation’s midsection. The drought not only has had impacts on the ground in the Mississippi River region (affecting crops, groundwater supplies and river navigation), it is being cited in the halls of the U.S. Congress as another reason to expeditiously pass a Farm Bill before the current bill's September 30 expiration date (an argument unlikely to sway Republican House leaders, who view the bill as too divisive to bring to the floor before the November general election).  From a commodity crop standpoint, alone, 88 percent of corn and 87 percent of soybean crops in the country are now in drought-stricken regions.


More details on all of these drought-related matters can be found in the various articles listed in the special "Drought" section, immediately below, including links to on-line resources for producers impacted by the drought provided by the Iowa State University Extension and Kansas State University.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Drought-

• Farm bill & drought offer striking example of disconnect between Washington and rest of country bit.ly/MI9ypF
• ~ 55% of continental US now in moderate drought or worse & >1000 counties in 26 states declared natural-disaster areas http://wapo.st/PczWwP
• Corn and soybean prices leap to record levels on rising Midwest drought fears http://on.wsj.com/PlKCtc
• Analysis of NASA satellite imagery: drought damage to US crops centered on MO, AR, OK, TX, KS, NE and SD http://1.usa.gov/PcElzW
• Amid drought NE orders >1100 farmers to stop irrigating; KS orders >200 land owners to stop taking H2O from 10 streams http://reut.rs/M7cDBc
• FarmPolicy.com picture of pitiful ear of corn from East Central IL field representative of how crop looks throughout area bit.ly/ND0d2o
• Photo gallery: how drought is ravaging land, crop yields, and farmers’ livelihoods across Midwest http://bit.ly/MI6MAH
• 2012 Midwest drought rivals that of the Dust Bowl http://wxch.nl/MvGp0K
• Low Water Levels On The Mississippi River A Major Threat To Commerce http://bit.ly/NDK8tw
• Drought expands to previously-spared northern & western Midwest; analysts slashing corn yield estimates "by the hour " http://reut.rs/NvqqV9
• Central US drought disrupts Mississippi River barge traffic from Cairo, IL to Natchez, MS http://on.wsj.com/NDKUGP
• National Drought Mitigation Center: 2/3 of IL at least in a severe drought, and ~9% in an extreme drought or worse http://trib.in/NzIsTk
• Endless summer: US leads world in resource consumption, pollutant production & unwillingness to do anything about it http://nyti.ms/NR4uzj
• Iowa State U Extension http://bit.ly/PgTUmz and Kansas State U http://bit.ly/PgU2m5 provide online resources for drought-plagued producers

Farm Bill-

• House Republicans pressure House Speaker Boehner to bring up farm bill for floor consideration http://bit.ly/LA5mNi
• 46 organizations ask House Leadership for floor time for the Farm Bill in a letter http://bit.ly/ND0W3G (PDF of letter)
• House Speaker Boehner "less than enthusiastic" about bringing Farm Bill up for a floor vote http://bit.ly/ND157b
• Sen McCaskill (D-MO) calls on House to quickly pass Farm Bill http://1.usa.gov/PlLRIN as does Senate Ag Committee Chair http://bit.ly/PlM4eQ
• Senate Ag Committee Chair Stabenow: drought raises bar on Congress to get farm bill done; reinstall expired disaster programs http://bit.ly/MIaCtq
• New York Times editorial board: “House Agriculture Committee has approved an unconscionable farm bill" nyti.ms/ND1g2h
• Mississippi River Network calls  on Congress to pass a Farm Bill this year that protects Mississippi River http://bit.ly/NzHDK7 (Word doc)
• Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts backs House version of Farm Bill despite its conservation cuts http://bit.ly/PlGSrn

Agriculture -

• Studies highlight critical role farm conservation programs play in protecting; restoring nation’s environmental health http://bit.ly/NCZrm3
• USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack commentary: "Conserving and restoring America’s natural resources" http://bit.ly/PlIAJj
• Financial Times Online: “Is the world on the brink of another food crisis?" http://bit.ly/ND02UR
• Washington Post editorial: “any notion that farming is a precarious, hardscrabble business . . . absurd” http://wapo.st/ND0GS8
• EPA withdraws controversial proposal to collect information about Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations http://1.usa.gov/NdmEkC
• The Nation: Whose side is the American Farm Bureau on: agribusiness or small family farmers? http://bit.ly/LWIqcx
• Corn prices push above $8 a bushel for the first time ever, as world starts to face shortage http://bit.ly/MpQEYW

Water Quality -

• Arkansas attorney general seeks to intervene in Mississippi River nutrient lawsuit against EPA bit.ly/Pcq46i
• Kansas attorney general ALSO seeks to intervene in Mississippi River nutrient lawsuit against EPA http://bit.ly/PcqsSl
• EPA's Missouri list of impaired water bodies released for comment http://bit.ly/NDJDzF
• Kentucky clean water mine case nears resolution http://cjky.it/NDLfJs
• EPA: IA animal feeding operations' failure to comply with clean water rules gave them $$ advantage over competitors http://bit.ly/NDLtAm
• OH company pleads guilty to criminal violations of Clean Water Act re: coal-wastewater spills into a SE OH stream http://bit.ly/NDLPah
• Environmental group settles with mining company over water pollution problem in northeast Knox County, TN http://on.wbir.com/NDMmsJ
• Environmental groups sue over Se pollution from WV mountaintop mining, claiming Clean Water Act violation http://bit.ly/M6qW90 and http://cbsn.ws/M6r88m
• TN Clean Water Network; State/Federal governments announce Clean Water Act agreement w/ City Of Chattanooga, TN http://1.usa.gov/NyvcQq & http://bit.ly/PlB7Kq
• EPA highlights innovative green infrastructure, water & energy approaches using Clean Water State Revolving Fund http://1.usa.gov/Plzc8J
• EPA awards $30,000 in Green Infrastructure water grants to Neosho, MO http://1.usa.gov/OJVfkN $70,000 to Omaha, NE http://1.usa.gov/OJVlZD

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, etc.) -

• Army Corps urged to address Missouri River sandbars; other flow constrictions ahead of next winter & potential floods http://bit.ly/PYydwx
• Mississippi River Commission to make annual Low-Water Inspection; hold public meetings at 7 River locations in August http://bit.ly/ND3Q8J
• House floor vote canceled on contentious ND levee bill indicating that it likely didn't have votes to pass http://bit.ly/MI7jTh
• Sen. Hoeven (R-ND) to 'educate people' before refloating canceled House vote on controversial ND levees bill bit.ly/MI7NZ
• Assoc of State Floodplain Managers http://bit.ly/M7afKI & R Street Institute http://bit.ly/M7amFX had opposed levee bill seeking ND carve out
• Peabody Energy selects Houston & New Orleans as primary ports for shipping West & Midwest coal to international markets http://bit.ly/LYQwkY

In the States -

• EPA: Iowa must fix regulation of livestock farms; given 60 days to come up with plan http://bit.ly/NDM45g

Gulf Coastal Region-

• Environmental groups lay out guidelines and project portfolio for restoration and recovery of Gulf Coast ecosystem http://bit.ly/NzFCxC
• Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority criticizes Coast Guard for prematurely allowing BP to pull its cleanup teams http://bit.ly/LYQTfj

Resource Extraction -

• North Dakota landowners/towns discover down sides of oil boom to rural lifestyle, environment and economy http://wapo.st/PlBXa0

Federal Budget -

• Frenzy over Federal budget sequester hits Capitol Hill; partisan sparring escalates http://politi.co/PcsMIR
• Fearing shutdown showdown, House Republican leaders want to pass 3-month stopgap funding bill in early Sept http://politi.co/MGYNVs
• GOP lawmakers now say they could settle for stopgap spending bill to fund government at current levels into early 2013 http://bit.ly/OJW1OD

Events-

• Mississippi River Commission to make annual Low-Water Inspection; hold public meetings at 7 River locations in August http://bit.ly/ND3Q8J
• EPA Water Quality Standards Virtual Academy Webinar: Water Quality Standards 101; Oct 4, 1 PM Eastern http://1.usa.gov/ND4vXL
• Reminder: Submit a dedicated 2013 National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration session proposal by July 27 http://bit.ly/MEdzwe
• Call for abstracts: 8th IAHS International Groundwater Quality Conference (GQ13); deadline Oct 15 http://bit.ly/MIbb6y
• 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration; Madison WI; Oct 6-11, 2013; http://bit.ly/PlytUV (PDF file)
• Webinar: The Clean Water Act, EPA Regulation, and the Future of Farming; July 24; noon-1 PM EDT http://bit.ly/Pd55Ab

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• The July 13 Issue of "Delta Dispatches" with the latest news on Coastal Louisiana restoration, is now available here: http://bit.ly/OCMAl1
• Quarterly Newsletter of the Society for Ecological Restoration http://bit.ly/PlxQuG (PDF file) with a global perspective on restoration

Other news-

• House GOP setting up vote next week on bill to freeze major federal regulations until unemployment reaches 6% http://bit.ly/MIaRoA
• Term "smart growth" viewed as demeaning to those who don't embrace it wholeheartedly http://usat.ly/M6s38J
• U of MN professor: Finding common ground can keep environmental discussions from degrading into diatribe http://n.pr/NzFlL8

Political Scene - 

• Washington Post Editorial: 14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever http://wapo.st/NuexNN
• Governors - both Democratic and Republican - agree: Washington politics is broken http://politi.co/NWgRO3

Last Word 

"They have smiled at me and that’s kind of where we are." - House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK), when responding to reporter questions about whether House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)  and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) have discussed with Lucas the scheduling of floor time for the House Farm Bill.  Lucas added that lawmakers might gain greater enthusiasm for the Farm Bill after spending the August recess visiting with constituents in drought-affected districts.

UPDATED: House Vote on Bill to Rebuild Levees on Floodplains Cancelled (see comment)

The U.S. House is expected to vote on Tuesday on a bill introduced by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that would direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to rebuild permanent levees on North Dakota lands acquired under a federal program for reclaiming floodplains (FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program).  The bill (S 2039) was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate in January, and would create what Hoeven has called a "pilot project" in his home state, allowing a State or local government to "construct levees on certain properties otherwise designated as open space lands," and lifting a ban on federal levee construction on lands purchased under.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Farm Bill Passes Out of House Committee Facing an Uncertain Floor Fate
The House Agriculture Committee passed its vision of a 2012 Farm Bill early in the morning on Thursday (July 12), following 15 hours of grueling and sometimes contentious debate and discussion over a series of 109 offered bill amendments. In the end, the bill passed by a healthy and bipartisan 24-vote margin, 35-11.

The House version of the bill contrasts significantly with a farm bill passed by the Senate in June both on their total price tags, and on several major issues, primarily crop subsidies and nutrition programs (and to a lesser extent rural development). The possibility is growing that House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor may try to avoid a bitter floor fight on those Farm Bill issues, where both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats would pick apart the bill from their respective positions. Seeking to steer clear of such a debate, House leadership may opt instead to leave the House bill in the hands of Committee Chair Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson, providing them the opportunity to negotiate a Farm Bill deal with their Senate counterparts (Senators Debbie Stabenow and Pat Roberts) in conference committee. The Farm Bill product that emerges from that process would then simply be subject to one roll call vote on the House floor.

Whether the House opts for that process or for a full-blow floor debate, the legislative clock is ticking. The authority of the current Farm Bill lapses at midnight on September 30, and a mere 12 scheduled working days remain on the legislative calendar before both the Senate and House recess for their annual August exodus from the Washington, DC heat and humidity.

For more on the week's Farm Bill activity, see this earlier blog post and the numerous news links, immediately below.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Farm Bill-

General News

• Izaak Walton League’s "solution-oriented steps for reauthorizing a 2012 Farm Bill" http://bit.ly/NeDzAn
• Farm Bureau Federation http://bit.ly/PQiQqZ  & Farmers Union http://bit.ly/PQiRve  convey Farm Bill priorities to House Agriculture Committee
• Liberal Democrats are fuming over $16 billion in cuts to food stamp programs included in the House farm bill http://bit.ly/NgsxYf
• CBO analysis: Senate passed Farm Bill would spend $23.1 B/10 yrs less than that if programs were simply continued http://1.usa.gov/MV6QCn
• CBO estimates that enacting House Farm Bill proposal would reduce direct spending by $35.1 billion over 10 years http://1.usa.gov/MV7zTS
• New study by Agricultural and Food Policy Center concerns economic impacts of House & Senate Farm Bill proposals http://bit.ly/NfxQdz (PDF)

House Agriculture Committee Activity

• Reuters article detailing provisions of the House Agriculture committee’s farm bill http://reut.rs/MULi8X
• From NSAC :House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill highlights: http://bit.ly/MUN9dC and details http://bit.ly/MUNdtZ
• House Committee farm bill builds on the Senate passed-plan; cuts deeper http://bit.ly/NeBPXL
• Here is a list of the 100 Farm Bill amendments being considered this week by the House Agriculture Committee http://bit.ly/MiLWaT (PDF file)
• House Agriculture Committee approves farm bill; but its fate on House floor uncertain bit.ly/NnQ9NP

Reaction to House Committee Passage

• House Ag Committee Chair and Ranking Member issue statements after Committee approves Farm Bill http://1.usa.gov/OahIHg
• USDA Secretary Vilsack criticizes House Agriculture Committee's farm bill passage in statement http://bit.ly/NrLEyK
• Environmental Working Group issues reaction statement after House Agriculture Committee Farm Bill passage http://bit.ly/NrNMq3

Next Steps

• Senate and House versions of farm bill each play on different ambitions and anxieties of farmers http://politi.co/NeBwwk
• House and Senate lawmakers are headed for a Farm Bill collision over funding for food stamps http://on.wsj.com/PSE9br
• House Agriculture Committee's defeat of food stamp cut amendment may have effectively killed hopes of passing bill http://bit.ly/NnQTlX
• House Ag Committee challenge to Senate Farm Bill crop insurance reform sets up passage roadblock with time running out http://trib.in/LMdziX
• House Speaker Boehner refuses to guarantee Farm Bill floor time, saying that some provisions concern him http://bit.ly/NlOBoL
• Republican House leaders fear a messy debate and  may squash farm bill http://politi.co/LSSWgd

Agriculture -

• Diverse organizations deliver two letters to House farm committee leaders in support of Protect Our Prairies Act http://bit.ly/MV9t7d
• US farmers plant 96.4 million acres of corn this year, making it highest corn acreage in last 75 years http://1.usa.gov/MVf9hq
• USDA: Climate change likely to cost Corn Belt between $1.1 and $4.4 billion a year http://1.usa.gov/Nad4NT
• St. Charles County, Missouri crops wither in record heat http://bit.ly/MVMPvU
• In face of drought, USDA slashes corn crop season-end inventory forecast estimate by hefty 37% http://1.usa.gov/nwHOt (page 2)
• USDA Secretary Vilsack: Improved seed technology and improved efficiencies help limit corn losses in drought http://bit.ly/PSI6gr

Water Quality -

• Subsurface gravel wetlands are highly effective at advanced stormwater treatment http://bit.ly/MVbOPk
• GAO says that EPA and USDA programs targeting farm and urban runoff fall short of goals http://1.usa.gov/MVcXGC
• GAO: Key EPA water quality program needs greater oversight http://bit.ly/PSHKpW
• Farm Bureau Federation launches "Stop the Flood of Regulation" push to halt EPA and Army Corps Clean Water Act guidance http://bit.ly/MVdXug
• Nitrate - a dead zone pollutant - grows despite decades of work. But who's the culprit? http://bit.ly/Nadxj0
• National Center for Environmental Economics paper: Water Quality Index Aggregation and Cost Benefit Analysis http://1.usa.gov/Mf4Pwl
• Cattle feedlot near Broken Bow, NE agrees to pay $145,000 civil penalty to EPA for discharge to stream http://1.usa.gov/PQk1GT & http://bit.ly/MiJAJc
• WI Supreme Court to rule in case pitting large farm against town worried about water quality http://wapo.st/NnOwfX
• WI Supreme Court: town cannot impose water-quality standards on a livestock farm tougher than state's rules http://bit.ly/O72vqs
• EPA seeks Iowa DNR action to correct deficiencies in the state’s CAFO Permitting and Compliance Program http://1.usa.gov/NlPNsn
• EPA seeks public comment on proposed changes to list of impaired waters for Missouri http://1.usa.gov/NlPWvY

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, etc.) -

• IL River Emiquon Complex and Dixon Waterfowl Refuge named “wetlands of international importance” by Ramsar Convention http://bit.ly/Mf4wSe
• Association of State Floodplain Managers Announces Leadership Transition http://bit.ly/MUITuW
• USDA produces 2 new dynamic bibliographies on Water Availability http://bit.ly/PFLuLs and Drought and Weather http://bit.ly/PFLpY3
• Great Plains' Ogallala Aquifer dips as result of Texas drought http://bit.ly/NCYLgk
• Not surprisingly, agricultural producers & Conservation District disagree on health, sustainability of Ogallala Aquifer http://bit.ly/PSC8Mp
• Water-monitoring stations around US and rest of world are on the decline as funding dries up http://nyti.ms/MVeqg2
• Extreme weather threatening drinking water supplies in Central Kentucky http://bit.ly/NfBUuq

In the States -

• WI Governor Walker declares state of emergency in 42 counties as drought deepens http://bit.ly/Mf5PjS

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Congress to Army Corps: speed up planning to stop Asian carp from moving from Mississippi basin into Great Lakes http://on.freep.com/MVeNrb
• Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Comm commits to getting Congressionally-mandated progress report out in 3 months http://on.freep.com/NnU0ug
• Grant awarded by Illinois for Grafton IL Asian carp processing plant http://bit.ly/MUT4zp
• # of ducks in US and Canada reach highest level ever recorded; an estimated 48.6 million http://bit.ly/MV8LXp
• New study: FWS rarely considered nonagency scientists' suggestions in making critical habitat designations http://bit.ly/MVa5d0
• Asian carp impact on Mississippi River Basin ecology remains unclear http://bit.ly/NrNa3U

Gulf Coastal Region-

• BP settlement for 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil  spill provides economic boost for Louisiana http://bit.ly/MVeb4S
• Restore Act signed into law: will send billions of dollars in BP oil spill fines to Gulf Coast for restoration http://bit.ly/NfzV9B
• Restore Act $ to help build 16-foot earthen levee around Crown Point, Jean Lafitte and nearby Louisiana communities http://bit.ly/OWb6RH

Resource Extraction -

• Keystone XL: Compromise route around Nebraska Sand Hills still crosses sandy hills http://bit.ly/MiID3A
• TN Dept of Environment and Conservation tries to iron out standards and guidelines for fracking http://bit.ly/MiJukG

Federal Budget -

• GOP and Democrats fiddle with meaningless health care debating as unemployment, tax cut and budget crises loom http://bit.ly/NnRynt

Events-

• 5th Annual Upper Mississippi River Conference; Moline, IL; Sept 26-28; information and register at http://www.riveraction.org/umrc/
• America’s Great Watershed Initiative Summit; Sept 26-27, St. Louis, MO; info: http://bit.ly/MP6s4C $250 registration: http://bit.ly/MP6h9r
• Horinko Group July 18 Environmental Speaker Series: Dave White, USDA NRCS Chief; info & contact to register: http://bit.ly/NeMSQT
• EcoSummit 2012: Ecological Sustainability - Restoring the Planet's Ecosystem Services; Sept 30 - Oct 5,  Columbus, OH http://bit.ly/NBnmFW

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• American Farmland Trust June issue of E-news http://bit.ly/MUJe0w
• Association of State Floodplain Managers June "News and Views" http://bit.ly/MUJSLF (PDF file)
• Tennessee Clean Water Network's July 5 e-newsletter http://bit.ly/NeIt0c
• The Horinko Group's July "sustainabulletin" is available here http://bit.ly/NagAI4

Other news-

• Heat wave, fires have climate change supporters on offensive http://bit.ly/L5y9sR
• US experienced extremes of extreme weather in first half of 2012 gu.com/p/38qz9/tf
• NOAA: last 12 months were hottest on record in US http://bit.ly/NdOaKv
• USGS Geographic Framework for Guiding Conservation on a Landscape Scale http://bit.ly/PFL6fY
• Minneapolis, MN Mayor Rybak included in top 10 "green" mayors of U.S. largest cities ow.ly/ca3sN
• The Economist: Ecosystem services - Pricing nature's freebies http://econ.st/OCcIwn via @InvasiveNotes

Political Scene - 

• GOP Senate primary slugfest could aid Sen. McCaskill (D-MO) in her run for reelection http://politi.co/PQiaBV
• Marquette University poll suggests that former Governor Thompson and Eric Hovde lead GOP US Senate primary in Wisconsin http://bit.ly/NnRR1J

Last Word 
"They don’t have much to do on the floor until August first anyway. I don’t know what their excuse is to not get us on the floor.” - House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), reflecting on the reticence shown thus far by House Leadership to schedule floor time for the House to consider the Farm Bill before Congress members flee Washihgton DC for the month of August.

And speaking of fiddling while Rome burns (my words, not Mr. Peterson's), here's a very nice five-minute fiddling musical piece that I hope you all enjoy with your Friday morning's coffee or tea: violinist Natalie MacMaster and Thomas Dolby playing Dolby’s original song “Blue Is a River” in an ethereal duet.

Natalie MacMaster is a star of Cape Breton fiddling, a Canadian tradition with Scottish roots.  That tradition really comes out at the very end of the piece (with a little dancing thrown in for good measure!).

Farm Bill Passes Out of House Committee with an Uncertain Floor Fate

The House Agriculture Committee passed its vision of a 2012 Farm Bill early in the morning (Thursday, July 12), following 15 hours of grueling and sometimes contentious debate and discussion over a series of 109 offered bill amendments. A total of 44 amendments were passed during the mark-up session; none directly impacting the Conservation Title (Title II).  A list of passed amendments can be found here.

In the end, the bill passed by a healthy and bipartisan 24-vote margin, 35-11 (roll call vote summary will be posed here as soon as it becomes available).  Thirteen Democrats joined 22 Republicans in voting for the measure. The four Republicans who voted against the bill expressed concern over commodity provisions and stated their desire to cut even more than the $35 billion already eliminated over ten years from its nearly trillion dollar price tag. The seven Democrats who voted against the bill opposed what they described as draconian and excessive cuts to the bill's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or "SNAP").

The House version of the bill contrasts significantly with a Senate farm bill passed by that chamber in June. That bill cuts $23 billion from direct spending, with much of the $12 billion difference between the chambers' measures represented by the steeper House SNAP cuts ($4.5 billion in Senate compared to the House's $16.5 billion). Amendments that would have both increased the amount of SNAP cuts and reduced the nutrition assistance cuts to an amount equal to those in the Senate bill were voted down by the House Committee yesterday. However, proponents of both deeper and shallower SNAP cuts are sure to raise the issue again either on the House floor and during any Senate-House conference committee negotiations. There are also some significant commodity subsidy policy differences between the two versions that Agriculture Committee leaders from both chambers hope to iron out in conference.

The possibility is growing that House Speaker John Boehner (OH-8) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA-7) may try to avoid a bitter floor debate on Farm Bill crop subsidies and nutrition programs (and to a lesser extent rural development), when both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats would pick apart the bill from their respective positions. Seeking to steer clear of such a fight, House leadership may opt to leave the House bill in the hands of Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN-7), providing them the opportunity to negotiate a Farm Bill deal with their Senate counterparts (Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Pat Roberts (R-KS)) in conference committee. The Farm Bill product that emerges from that process would then simply be subject to one more roll call vote on the House floor. It is noteworthy that in statements this morning both Peterson and Stabenow rejected the straight-to-conference approach in favor of a quick full House floor consideration.

Whether the House opts for that process or for a full-blow floor debate, the legislative clock is ticking. The authority of the current Farm Bill lapses at midnight on September 30, and a mere 13 scheduled working days remain on the legislative calendar before both the Senate and House recess for their annual August exodus from the Washington, DC heat and humidity.