would have doubled the use of corn-based ethanol and direct $16 billions in tax credits and incentives to spur energy development and conservation.” [Vote 317, 7/31/03; AP, 7/31/03] XXXX Supported An Energy Bill That Included a Mandate To Triple Ethanol Production And $14 Billion In Energy Tax Incentives. In 2002, XXXX supported an energy bill that tripled the amount of ethanol to be used as an additive in gasoline and included a $14 billion in energy tax incentives for production and for conservation. The vote was on a cloture motion on the Daschle further modified substitute amendment to the National Laboratories Partnership Improvement Act of 2001. [Vote 77, 4/23/02; Associated Press, 4/23/02; Associated Press, 4/24/02] XXXX Voted Against Giving Foreign Companies That Convert Chicken Droppings Into Fuel A Tax Break. In July 1999, XXXX voted for an amendment to the Taxpayer Refund Act of 1999 by Sen. Ashcroft that would have struck a provision of the bill providing a tax credit for companies that use chicken waste (manure) to make electricity. According to the Baltimore Sun, "But by a vote of 77-23, the senators beat back an effort to delete a Roth plan that would provide a $50 million tax credit for converting chicken manure to electricity. The tax credit is intended as an incentive for a British company that is considering building power plants in the Delmarva Peninsula and in Minnesota equipped with new technology that converts the chicken droppings into fuel. Sen. John Ashcroft, a Missouri Republican, argued that this proposal "gives a break to foreign corporations when there are U.S. companies capable" of converting chicken manure "into something useful." Two companies in his home state, Ashcroft said, turn poultry waste into pollution-free fertilizer." The amendment was rejected 23-77. [Vote 246, 7/30/99; Baltimore Sun, Hosler, 7/31/99] SPENDING, SUBSIDIES, AND TAXES XXXX Opposed Amendment to Cut Farm Subsidies. In December 2007, XXXX voted against an amendment to the Farm Bill that would have cut more than $2 billion in spending from the federal crop insurance program and used the savings to fund improvements to conservation programs and nutrition programs, and to reduce the federal budget deficit. The amendment failed 32-63. [Vote 428, 12/13/07; CQ Today, 12/11/07] XXXX Rejected Additional $2 Billion for Ag Programs. In 2006, XXXX voted against adding $2 billion for agriculture programs to the fiscal 2007 Budget Resolution and offsetting the increase by closing corporate tax loopholes. [Vote 66, 3/16/06] XXXX Voted To Keep $74.5 Million for Ag Programs. XXXX voted not to cut $74.5 million in funding for crop, dairy and livestock programs from the fiscal year 2006 Supplemental appropriations bill. Sen. John McCain, who proposed the funding cut, argued that the money would reward productivity and, as such, did not belong in an emergency spending bill. [Vote 108, 5/3/06; National Journal’s CongressDaily, 5/4/06; McCain Press Release, 5/3/06] XXXX Voted to Cut $2.8 Billion From Ag Programs. In March 2005, XXXX voted to cut mandatory agriculture funding by $2.8 billion between 2006 and 2010. Sen. Max Baucus and other critics argued that the cuts were not proportionate to agriculture's share of the federal budget, representing 16.5% of the mandatory spending cuts but only 1% of the entire federal budget. "Agriculture is a small portion of the federal budget, and it is expected to shoulder huge cuts," Baucus said. [Vote 69, 3/17/05; CQ Today, 3/18/05; Gannett News Service, 3/18/05] XXXX Voted Against Capping Farm Subsidies. In 2005, XXXX voted against a motion to cap farm commodity program payments at $250,000 a year for married couples and $125,000 per individual, down from the existing limit of $360,000. A cap was expected to be hardest on Southern cotton and rice growers who depend more on federal subsidies than Midwest grain producers. The proposal XXXX rejected also would delay the 2.5% across- the-board cut in farm program payments, adopted by the Senate Agriculture Committee, for one year, until 2007. [Vote 290, 11/3/05; Wichita Eagle, 11/3/05; National Journal’s CongressDaily, 11/3/05; Des Moines Register, 11/3/05] 13