A group of 33 bipartisan senators yesterday called on their leaders to include a five-year farm bill in an end-of-the-year fiscal package.

The coalition organized by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said that including the Senate-passed version of the farm bill in a package would provide $23 billion in savings over the next decade while giving producers certainty and relief from the past year's drought.

"With each passing day, the difficulty of enacting a farm bill before the end of this Congress grows," the senators wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "Congress must do the responsible thing and pass a full, five-year reform farm bill. Accordingly, we urge you to consider folding in the Senate's strong bipartisan bill in any end-of-the-year package."

The farm bill funds commodity subsidies along with a suite of rural conservation and energy programs and the national food stamp program. The 2008 version expired at the end of September, and several conservation and energy programs have since stopped accepting new enrollments.

The leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees have been communicating with the White House and congressional leaders over including the legislation in a deal to address the "fiscal cliff," or the automatic spending cuts and expirations of tax incentives that are set to go into effect at the beginning of next year.

This appears to be the first coordinated push by other lawmakers to press leaders for the same result. Signing the letter were eight Republicans and several members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, on which Baucus and Hoeven both sit.

The coalition noted that the bill passed with bipartisan support earlier this year on the Senate floor.

"The Senate farm bill is a fiscally responsible plan that came together because folks worked across party lines to support America's farmers and ranchers," said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who was among the letter's signers.

A House version of the farm bill that proposes to cut $35 billion over the next 10 years has been stalled on the floor since July.

The House version contains substantial policy differences in the commodity subsidy title, as well as different levels of reductions to the national food stamps program. Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) have expressed optimism about reaching agreement on the bills, but as of yet there is no deal (E&E Daily, Dec. 7).