Why do they need an AgJobs Bill? Seems to me the Dems are trying to sneak enough legislation into other Bills to carry farmers and their illegal labor without it? They do carry crop loss insurance too! And they tuck it in a Bill that's supposed to be funding our troops!

Iraq bill packed with aid for farmers
By Michael Doyle / Bee Washington Bureau
03/15/07 11:30:23

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WASHINGTON - California farmers would get millions of dollars under a controversial Iraq War funding bill approved Thursday by a key committee.

Sweetening the pot for rural lawmakers, Democratic leaders packed more than $3.5 billion in emergency aid for farmers into the Iraq bill. There is money for spinach growers, dairy farmers, the San Joaquin Valley citrus industry and West Coast salmon fishermen, among others.

But while the money may relieve farmers, it roils Republican skeptics. It could also put some Valley lawmakers in a bind.

"What does a bailout for spinach producers…have to do with the global war on terror?" Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, asked Thursday morning.

The Capitol Hill answer is: Maybe everything.

Lewis is the senior GOP member, and former chairman, of the House Appropriations Committee. The powerful panel spent hours Thursday debating and ultimately approving the $124.1 billion bill that's now the centerpiece of the Iraq War debate. Most significantly, the so-called Iraq supplemental bill sets the stage for withdrawal of U.S. forces if the Iraq government fails to meet certain performance benchmarks.

The bill provides roughly $100 billion sought by President Bush to fund the continuing U.S. military occupation of Iraq. Democrats also folded in domestic priorities, ranging from a $2.10 rise in the minimum wage to agricultural goodies that include:

* $1.8 billion in crop disaster assistance payments nationwide. San Joaquin Valley citrus producers whose orchards were damaged in a bad January freeze could get some of this money.
* $25 million for California spinach growers who lost money when they recalled shipments following an e. coli contamination scare last fall.
* $60 million for salmon fishermen who lost business when officials shut down most of the commercial fishing season off the Oregon and Northern California coasts last summer.
* $1.4 billion for livestock producers and $283 million for dairy producers.

"It can affect how people vote," Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Antioch, acknowledged in an interview taped for C-SPAN when asked about the additional spending items.

Lewis was harsher, declaring that lawmakers should not "abandon our principle and the troops in the field for the promise of pork back in our districts." Nonetheless, the House Appropriations Committee approved the package by a largely party line 37-27 vote, and rejected an amendment to strip out the spinach funding.

"It's easy to make fun of spinach," said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Monterey, "but if we had eaten more of it, we would be a lot stronger society."

The House is expected to take up the package next week.

http://www.fresnobee.com/406/story/35511.html