Senate Ag Committee Donations

This article lists 2009-2010 donations by the agriculture, crop production and processing, food processing, and food and beverage industries to the 21 members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee in the 112th Congress (2011-2012).

During the period from 2009 to 2010, the agriculture and food-related industries donated $8,488,399 to the 21 Senate Agriculture Committee members in the 112th Congress: $5,460,105 to the 10 Republican members, and $3,028,294 to the 11 Democratic members, as listed below.

Five senators received 59%, $5,002,720, of the $8,448,399 industry donations to Agriculture Committee members: Sen. Saxy Chambliss (R-GA) - $2,038,340 Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) - $1,003,037 Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) - $679,206 Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) - $662,828 Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) - $619,309Additionally, lobbyists representing unspecified industries donated $5,215,928 in 2009-2010 to the 21 Senate Agriculture Committee members.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
112th Congress, 2011-2012

Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia Crop Production & Basic Processing - $831,111 Agricultural Services/Products - $400,671 Lobbyists - $331,129 Food Processing & Sales - $311,850 Food & Beverage - $231,000 Dairy - $105,150 Poultry & Eggs - $87,200 Livestock - $71,358Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (Senate Minority Leader) Lobbyists - $606,053 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $253,394 Food Processing & Sales - $226,149 Food & Beverage - $207,500 Agricultural Services/Products - $203,294 Livestock - $112,700Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas (Ranking Republican committee member) Agricultural Services/Products - $231,050 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $170,243 Food Processing & Sales - $96,700 Food & Beverage - $62,350 Livestock - $59,986 Dairy - $42,499Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska Food Processing & Sales - $126,548 Agricultural Services/Products - $112,650 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $80,876 Lobbyists - $75,400 Dairy - $73,190 Food & Beverage - $67,061Sen. Thad Cochrane of Mississippi Crop Production & Basic Processing - $177,044 Agricultural Services/Products - $104,200 Lobbyists - $103,600Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa Agricultural Services/Products - $193,200 Lobbyists - $293,899Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana Food Processing & Sales - $89,599 Lobbyists - $86,501 Agricultural Services/Products - $81,700 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $55,175Sen. John Thune of South Dakota Lobbyists - $273,508 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $110,203 Agricultural Services/Products - $103,030 Food & Beverage - $73,100 Dairy - $71,150 Livestock - $35,475Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota Food Processing & Sales - $54,000 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $51,200Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas Crop Production & Basic Processing - $49,880 Food Processing & Sales - $46,619DEMOCRATIC SENATORS
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
112th Congress, 2011-2012

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska Lobbyists - $345,157 Agricultural Services/Products - $195,100 Food Processing & Sales - $152,300 Food & Beverage - $149,756 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $104,800 Livestock - $41,250 Dairy - $36,000Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa Lobbyists - $418,354 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $240,735 Agricultural Services/Products - $184,095 Dairy - $76,799 Food Processing & Sales - $73,58 Livestock - $44,100Sen. Max Baucus of Montana Lobbyists - $483,105 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $124,530 Food Processing & Sales - $63,800 Food & Beverage - $62,003Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan (Committee Chair) Lobbyists - $316,596 Agricultural Services/Products - $93,450 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $91,050 Food Processing & Sales - $36,166 Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota Lobbyists - $228,092 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $157,475 Agricultural Services/Products - $93,112 Dairy - $31,500 Food Processing & Sales - $22,500 Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania Lobbyists - $305,589 Food & Beverage - $64,376 Food Processing & Sales - $42,750 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $38,300 Agricultural Services/Products - $29,700Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York Lobbyists - $388,421 Food & Beverage - $61,275 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $53,700 Agricultural Services/Products - $53,548 Food Processing & Sales - $48,185 Dairy - $40,600Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado Lobbyists - $286,809 Food & Beverage - $53,059 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $41,550 Livestock - $35,489Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio Lobbyists - $240,498 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $53,627 Food & Beverage - $36,300 Agricultural Services/Products - $32,150Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota Lobbyists - $158,167 Food Processing & Sales - $103,003 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $62,156 Food & Beverage - $46,475Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont Lobbyists - $275,050 Agricultural Services/Products - $32,250 Crop Production & Basic Processing - $25,700SOURCE - Center for Responsive Politics website

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Although the Canadian Senate is usually considered the chamber of "sober, second thought," it has the same powers as the House of Commons except that it can not introduce legislation related to the raising or spending of money.

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U.S. debt plan heads to Senate

Debt compromise a heated subjectSources say a $3 trillion deficit-reduction plan is under discussionSpokesmen deny a report that Obama and Boehner are close to a dealParty leaders are still considering a fallback plan proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellThe United States must raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 or risk a default

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are expected to continue talks Friday on a potential deal tying roughly $3 trillion in new savings over the next decade to an increase in the debt ceiling.

The negotiations -- necessary to stave off an unprecedented national default that could prove economically devastating -- are testing the ability of leaders on both sides of the aisle to legislate effectively in an era of increasingly shrill and unyielding partisanship.

Republicans, feeling the pressure of tea party populism, remain staunchly opposed to any tax increases. Democrats are desperately trying to protect one of their party's primary legacies -- entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, programs forged at the height of the New Deal and Great Society.

What, if anything, either side is prepared to yield remains an open question.

Some congressional Democrats appeared to be on the verge of open revolt against their own president Thursday night after hearing some of the details in the $3 trillion plan -- a package many of them contend does not do nearly enough to ensure wealthier Americans share in the burden of stemming the tide of Washington's red ink.

The talks have now become a race against the clock. If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar and increasingly jittery financial markets, among other problems.

The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to cast aside the House GOP's so-called "cut, cap, and balance" plan Friday -- a plan that would tie a debt ceiling increase to sweeping reductions in federal spending, caps on future expenditures, and a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Voting on the measure allows Republicans to demonstrate their preference for steps favored by many in the tea party movement even as GOP leaders try to find a middle ground with Democrats.

Boehner, meanwhile, is set to meet behind closed doors Friday with House Republicans. The speaker told reporters Thursday that while some members of his caucus wouldn't compromise, he didn't believe they "would be anywhere close the majority."

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden huddled with top congressional Democrats on Thursday night.

Spokesmen for Obama and Boehner have denied that any deal is imminent.

Regardless, attention continue to swirl around the prospects of the $3 trillion compromise. The possible deal remains in limbo over a disagreement on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 a year, according to congressional aides who spoke on condition of not being identified.

Nothing has been agreed to yet, they noted.

The possible deal would include spending cuts expected to total $1 trillion or more agreed to in earlier negotiations led by Biden, the sources said. It would reform entitlement programs by changing the eligibility age for Medicare over time, and using a more restrictive inflation index for Social Security benefits, according to the sources.

On taxes, it would permanently extend the Bush tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 while allowing the cuts to expire at the end of 2012 for those with income above that, the aides said. At the same time, the deal would include a commitment to reform the tax code next year, which is expected to lower all tax rates and eliminate loopholes and subsidies, the sources said.

Boehner, however, wants the deal to make all of the Bush tax cuts permanent while keeping the commitment to tax reform, the sources said. Republicans oppose any tax increases, and their resistance has been a major obstacle to any deal in the negotiations so far.

Some sources said the deal would work in two stages, with spending cuts and a debt ceiling increase occurring right away while entitlement reforms and tax reforms would occur later.

It is unclear -- even if a deal is reached -- that any sweeping package can be approved by the August 2 deadline.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney signaled to reporters earlier in the week that the president may now be willing to sign a short-term debt limit extension if Democratic and Republican leaders are close to agreement on a broad plan that includes both tax hikes and spending reforms.

Obama previously indicated he would veto any short-term extension.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also continuing discussions focused on the $3.7 trillion debt reduction blueprint put forward by the "Gang of Six," a group of three Democratic and three Republican senators.

Under the group's proposal, $500 billion in budget savings would be immediately imposed, with marginal income tax rates reduced and the controversial alternative minimum tax ultimately abolished.

The plan would create three tax brackets with rates from 8% to 12%, 14% to 22%, and 23% to 29% -- part of a new structure designed to generate an additional $1 trillion in revenue. It would require cost changes to Medicare's growth rate formula as well as $80 billion in Pentagon cuts.

Obama has praised the plan, calling it "broadly consistent" with his approach to debt reduction because it mixes tax changes, entitlement reforms and spending reductions.

The proposal, however, has been hit with a barrage of criticism from both the right and the left. Conservatives have complained about some of the plan's tax changes, while liberals have warned it would cut entitlement benefits too deeply.

If all else fails, party leaders could still turn to a fallback plan initially put forward by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. The measure would give Obama the power to raise the borrowing limit by a total of $2.5 trillion, but also require three congressional votes on the issue before the 2012 general election.

Specifically, Obama would be required to submit three requests for debt ceiling hikes -- a $700 billion increase and two $900 billion increases. Along with each request, the president would have to submit a list of recommended spending cuts exceeding the debt ceiling increase. The cuts would not need to be enacted in order for the ceiling to rise.

Congress would vote on -- and presumably pass -- "resolutions of disapproval" for each request. Obama would likely veto each resolution. Unless Congress manages to override the president's vetoes -- considered highly unlikely -- the debt ceiling would increase.

The unusual scheme would allow most Republicans and some more conservative Democrats to vote against any debt ceiling hike while still allowing it to clear.

McConnell and Reid are also working on two critical additions to the plan, according to congressional aides in both parties. One would add up to roughly $1.5 trillion in spending cuts agreed to in earlier talks led by Vice President Joe Biden; the other would create a commission meant to find more major spending cuts, tax increases and entitlement reforms.

Changes agreed to by the commission -- composed of an equal number of House and Senate Democrats and Republicans -- would be subject to a strict up-or-down vote by Congress. No amendments would be allowed.

Sources say the panel would be modeled after the Base Closing and Realignment Commission, which managed to close hundreds of military bases that Congress could not otherwise bring itself to shut down.

CNN's Ted Barrett, Kate Bolduan, Tom Cohen, Lisa Desjardins, Deirdre Walsh and Jessica Yellin contributed to this report

Quoting : CNN.com

Senate to vote on GOP debt measure

Debt compromise a heated subjectSources say a $3 trillion deficit-reduction plan is under discussionSpokesmen deny a report that Obama and Boehner are close to a dealParty leaders are still considering a fallback plan proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellThe United States must raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 or risk a default

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are expected to continue talks Friday on a potential deal tying roughly $3 trillion in new savings over the next decade to an increase in the debt ceiling.

The negotiations -- necessary to stave off an unprecedented national default that could prove economically devastating -- are testing the ability of leaders on both sides of the aisle to legislate effectively in an era of increasingly shrill and unyielding partisanship.

Republicans, feeling the pressure of tea party populism, remain staunchly opposed to any tax increases. Democrats are desperately trying to protect one of their party's primary legacies -- entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, programs forged at the height of the New Deal and Great Society.

What, if anything, either side is prepared to yield remains an open question.

Some congressional Democrats appeared to be on the verge of open revolt against their own president Thursday night after hearing some of the details in the $3 trillion plan -- a package many of them contend does not do nearly enough to ensure wealthier Americans share in the burden of stemming the tide of Washington's red ink.

The talks have now become a race against the clock. If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar and increasingly jittery financial markets, among other problems.

The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to cast aside the House GOP's so-called "cut, cap, and balance" plan Friday -- a plan that would tie a debt ceiling increase to sweeping reductions in federal spending, caps on future expenditures, and a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Voting on the measure allows Republicans to demonstrate their preference for steps favored by many in the tea party movement even as GOP leaders try to find a middle ground with Democrats.

Boehner, meanwhile, is set to meet behind closed doors Friday with House Republicans. The speaker told reporters Thursday that while some members of his caucus wouldn't compromise, he didn't believe they "would be anywhere close the majority."

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden huddled with top congressional Democrats on Thursday night.

Spokesmen for Obama and Boehner have denied that any deal is imminent.

Regardless, attention continue to swirl around the prospects of the $3 trillion compromise. The possible deal remains in limbo over a disagreement on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 a year, according to congressional aides who spoke on condition of not being identified.

Nothing has been agreed to yet, they noted.

The possible deal would include spending cuts expected to total $1 trillion or more agreed to in earlier negotiations led by Biden, the sources said. It would reform entitlement programs by changing the eligibility age for Medicare over time, and using a more restrictive inflation index for Social Security benefits, according to the sources.

On taxes, it would permanently extend the Bush tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 while allowing the cuts to expire at the end of 2012 for those with income above that, the aides said. At the same time, the deal would include a commitment to reform the tax code next year, which is expected to lower all tax rates and eliminate loopholes and subsidies, the sources said.

Boehner, however, wants the deal to make all of the Bush tax cuts permanent while keeping the commitment to tax reform, the sources said. Republicans oppose any tax increases, and their resistance has been a major obstacle to any deal in the negotiations so far.

Some sources said the deal would work in two stages, with spending cuts and a debt ceiling increase occurring right away while entitlement reforms and tax reforms would occur later.

It is unclear -- even if a deal is reached -- that any sweeping package can be approved by the August 2 deadline.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney signaled to reporters earlier in the week that the president may now be willing to sign a short-term debt limit extension if Democratic and Republican leaders are close to agreement on a broad plan that includes both tax hikes and spending reforms.

Obama previously indicated he would veto any short-term extension.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also continuing discussions focused on the $3.7 trillion debt reduction blueprint put forward by the "Gang of Six," a group of three Democratic and three Republican senators.

Under the group's proposal, $500 billion in budget savings would be immediately imposed, with marginal income tax rates reduced and the controversial alternative minimum tax ultimately abolished.

The plan would create three tax brackets with rates from 8% to 12%, 14% to 22%, and 23% to 29% -- part of a new structure designed to generate an additional $1 trillion in revenue. It would require cost changes to Medicare's growth rate formula as well as $80 billion in Pentagon cuts.

Obama has praised the plan, calling it "broadly consistent" with his approach to debt reduction because it mixes tax changes, entitlement reforms and spending reductions.

The proposal, however, has been hit with a barrage of criticism from both the right and the left. Conservatives have complained about some of the plan's tax changes, while liberals have warned it would cut entitlement benefits too deeply.

If all else fails, party leaders could still turn to a fallback plan initially put forward by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. The measure would give Obama the power to raise the borrowing limit by a total of $2.5 trillion, but also require three congressional votes on the issue before the 2012 general election.

Specifically, Obama would be required to submit three requests for debt ceiling hikes -- a $700 billion increase and two $900 billion increases. Along with each request, the president would have to submit a list of recommended spending cuts exceeding the debt ceiling increase. The cuts would not need to be enacted in order for the ceiling to rise.

Congress would vote on -- and presumably pass -- "resolutions of disapproval" for each request. Obama would likely veto each resolution. Unless Congress manages to override the president's vetoes -- considered highly unlikely -- the debt ceiling would increase.

The unusual scheme would allow most Republicans and some more conservative Democrats to vote against any debt ceiling hike while still allowing it to clear.

McConnell and Reid are also working on two critical additions to the plan, according to congressional aides in both parties. One would add up to roughly $1.5 trillion in spending cuts agreed to in earlier talks led by Vice President Joe Biden; the other would create a commission meant to find more major spending cuts, tax increases and entitlement reforms.

Changes agreed to by the commission -- composed of an equal number of House and Senate Democrats and Republicans -- would be subject to a strict up-or-down vote by Congress. No amendments would be allowed.

Sources say the panel would be modeled after the Base Closing and Realignment Commission, which managed to close hundreds of military bases that Congress could not otherwise bring itself to shut down.

CNN's Ted Barrett, Kate Bolduan, Tom Cohen, Lisa Desjardins, Deirdre Walsh and Jessica Yellin contributed to this report

Quoting : CNN.com