05/02/05 Budget versions and ag; U.S.D.A. jobs

As the House and Senate adopted versions of fiscal year 2006 federal budget guidelines late last week, those keeping an eye on the agriculture portion of the budget had mixed reactions to the resolutions. Under the measures that say what money is available but not how it is to be spent or cut, $173 million dollars in ag spending would be trimmed next budget year, and a total of $3 billion dollars would be cut over the next five years. Senate Ag Committee Chair Saxby Chambliss of Georgia says the Congressional spending cuts are much less than those in the Bush Administration's proposed budget. Any sort of ag budget cuts from Congress has one outspoken opponent & the National Farmers Union. Other commodity groups and ag organizations are still analyzing potential effects of the budget resolutions. The change in U.S.D.A. top personnel continues. Although the U.S. Senate confirmed President Bush's nomination of former Indiana Senator Chuck Connor as the new Deputy Ag Secretary, the President has not made the appointment official. That could come as early as today. Meanwhile, the Senate Ag Committee next month will consider confirmation of Tom Dorr as Under Secretary of Rural Development. He again faces opposition from Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. It was Harkin who successfully blocked Dorr's confirmation to appointment of the same post three years ago in the full Senate. Since that time, Dorr has served in the position on a recess appointment by President Bush, then later as a U.S.D.A. advisor. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. ALLEN: 33 years after DDT was banned, scientists have discovered minute traces of DDT in non-migrating songbirds. But is enough to cause the birds harm? An article in the Seattle Times insinuated that the fact that DDT exist in songbirds was a sign the environment is collapsing by quoting a spokesman for the Center for International Environmental Law, (notably bias on the issue) who said "These birds are the canaries in the coal mine, warning us about what is going on in our environment", What is going on today is that osprey, eagles and other predatory birds are thriving and the senior scientist at the Audubon Society practically admitted that there was no proof DDT was to blame for the decline of non-migrating songbirds when he said that maybe DDT could possibly effect their embryonic development. Where's the proof? When you considered the exploding population of geese that have quit migrating because life is pretty easily on the Northwest golf courses I don't know if attempting to drum up the perils of a chemical banned for 33 years holds still holds much water. I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought.