The House of Representatives passed their version of the 2012 agriculture appropriations bill on Thursday, June 16 by a narrow vote of 217-203. Nineteen Republicans and all the Democrats opposed the spending bill.
Despite attempts by Representatives Lucas (R-OK), Peterson (D-MN), Blumenauer (D-OR), Farr (D-CA) and Holden (D-PA) to beat back cuts in conservation, the final bill slashes and burns conservation by $1 billion. This is on top of the $500 million already cut from these programs in the continuing resolution passed earlier this year.
The two programs taking the hardest hit are the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. [Read more]