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Financial In Market The Senate Agriculture Committee approved an $88 billion farm bill today that places no limits on subsidies to America's wealthiest farmers and increases spending for conservation and food stamps.

The bill also creates a new 60 percent deduction for qualified timber capital gains, effective from the date of enactment through 2008. Thomas added the timber provision to gain support from Washington State Democrats, after a full estate tax repeal bill failed to win approval in the Senate. Meanwhile, Washington Sens. Maria Cantwell ( Wash.) and Patty Murray ( Wash.) have yet to express support for the House bill.

Oriental Trading Democrats from the farm belt blocked any reduction of payments to grain and cotton farmers, leading several Republicans to complain that if the measure passes, it would lead to overproduction and continue the current sinking farm prices.

In June 2003, the House approved the $162 billion "Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2003" in a vote of 264 to 163. If passed in the Senate, the bill would cancel the sunset clause in President Bush's 2001 act. And the Estate Tax would be permanently repealed. The Senate has yet to act on this bill.

Financial Forex Forex Software Senator Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat who is chairman of the committee, had proposed limits on subsidies. But he acquiesced to the majority to win passage of a bill this week and ensure what he said was enough money for the five-year measure.

Exporters enjoyed better fortunes in November, according to the latest figures. Thanks to UK firms shaking off the credit risk of selling goods and services abroad and winning new business, the UK trade deficit narrowed. The deficit on trade in goods and services dropped to á3.1 billion from á3.6 billion in October, while the goods deficit narrowed from á5 billion to á4.6 billion.

Trading "We have produced a very broad and balanced farm bill," Senator Harkin said today. "A lot of people said we couldn't do this, but we did."

The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. The Senate will not consider small tax extension bills on an individual basis, according to senior tax writers on the Senate Finance Committee. Instead, it would most likely try bundle those bills, such as the AMT extension, to reconciliation instructions for the Fiscal Year 2005 federal budget.

Trading Financial System The House passed a 10-year, $171 billion farm bill last month that provides more generous subsidy payments to farmers and less money for conservation and food stamps.

That apparently was not enough effort for Pete Domenici, the Republican head of the Senate's energy panel, who has spent months shepherding a bill through the Senate and trying to round up enough votes to end a filibuster of the measure.

Day Trading The Bush administration has promoted a shift in farm policy toward trade and conservation and away from strong dependence on commodity payments.

Forex Financial Trading The Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman supported a farm bill proposed by Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana, the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, that would have made the commodity programs based on need rather than acreage and increased spending on environmental and nutrition programs.

Fortune Make Option Trading At stake is a subsidy system structured to reward the biggest farmers, who receive 84 percent of federal cash payments even though they represent less than one-fourth of the country's two million farmers.

Science Of Financial Market "The way it favors the wealthiest, the bill we passed out of committee today is as bad if not worse than the House bill," Mr. Lugar said.

Future Trading He said he would offer his bill to the full Senate, but it will be only one of dozens of amendments offered.

Financial Sales Services In an open alliance, Senate Democrats and House Republicans from the farm belt have succeeded in blocking the Bush administration's effort to revamp farm policy.

Commodity Trading Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, said farmers needed the large subsidy payments to compete with subsidized European farmers in the global market.

Financial Services Trading "I know there are people who have cogent arguments that this farm policy encourages overproduction," Mr. Conrad said today, "but that misses the larger reality. We are engaged in a trade war, and it's not pretty. There are going to be unfortunate side effects."

Online Forex Trading Trade ministers from more than 100 countries met in Qatar this week and agreed to an agenda to drop trade barriers.

Financial Portfolio Trade The administration has said any new farm bill must respect international trade agreements and their limits on subsidies.

Sierra Trading Post Mr. Harkin predicted that the full Senate would take up the measure as soon as they returned from the Thanksgiving holiday, making it one of the few nonterror bills that could be enacted this year.

Trading Financial Future By Elizabeth Becker
New York Times - 11/16/2001

Topic: Congress

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