By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas
As Americans rush to finish their tax returns on Tuesday, Congress is also hustling to finish the Farm Bill and a housing crisis package while gearing up for fights over Iraq War funding.
The 2002 Farm bill is set to expire on April 18th, and members of both chambers are scrambling to work out an extension. Substantial debate remains, however, over the bill's overall price tag: the $10 billion increase initially floated has been countered by House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who, with the support of House Republicans, wants to limit the increase to $5.5 billion.
Peterson’s proposal would also strip out a disaster relief program championed by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.). Peterson cited "pay as you go" rules as his reason for opposing the program. On the flip side, Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) was upset that his proposed food stamps increase, coupled with tax breaks for farmers, was left out of the Senate version.
(More on this weeks' legislation and a complete list of this week's committee hearings after the jump.)