$1.2 billion to restock food banks and $1 billion for a school snack program. The measure will also establish a $3.8 billion trust fund to help farmers in flood- and drought-prone areas. The measure also contains provisions designed to guard against speculation in energy markets by setting record-keeping requirements for electronic energy traders and requiring them to provide an audit trail. [CQ Today, 5/15/08; Vote 130, 5/15/08] 2002: XXXX Voted Against the 2002 Farm Bill, Massive Subsidy Increases. In 2002, XXXX voted against a new farm bill re-establishing programs that supply payments to farmers when commodity prices fall below a specified level. It also raised mandatory and direct farm program spending by $73.5 billion over 10 years, provided $243 billion for food stamps and restored benefits for legal immigrants, and increased conservation spending to $17.1 billion. It also lowered the total limit on payments to individual farmers to $360,000 and authorized a new $1 billion dairy program for three and a half years. [Vote 103, 5/8/02] XXXX Voted For The 2001 Farm Bill. In 2001, XXXX voted for the 2001 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill XXXX supported would amend and extend for 5 years farm income support, land conservation, credit assistance, food assistance, trade promotion, marketing assistance, and rural development programs. Mandatory spending, primarily on farm income support programs, would be substantially increased, and several new mandatory-spending programs would be created. Democrats said the bill would cost $170 billion over 10 years. The vote was on a cloture motion to close debate on the motion to proceed to the Agriculture, Conservation, and Rural Enhancement Act of 2001. [Vote 352, 12/5/01; National Journal’s Congress Daily, 12/5/01]  XXXX Opposed Expanding on Reforms That Were Begun in the Last Farm Bill. In 2001, XXXX voted against expanding on the reforms that were begun in the last farm bill and increase funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Overall, the amendment would spend the same amount over the baseline over 10 years as the Harkin amendment. The motion to table was agreed to, 55-40. [Vote 374, 12/18/01] XXXX Voted Against Harkin’s Substitute 2001 Farm Bill. XXXX voted against the Farm Bill which would have renewed federal farm programs set to expire in October 2002. [Vote 377, 12/23/01] DAIRY & LIVESTOCK XXXX Voted to Ease Restrictions on Importing Canadian Beef, Ignored Mad Cow Fears. In 2005, XXXX voted to allow the Department of Agriculture to ease restrictions on Canadian beef. McConnell voted against a joint resolution that would block a proposed Department of Agriculture regulation that would have eased restrictions on the importation of Canadian beef. The U.S. border was closed to Canadian cattle after the 2003 discovery of mad cow disease in Alberta. The Bush Administration argued that easing the restrictions would help convince Japan to consider accepting U.S. beef, “a critical step for reviving the $7.5 billion beef and cattle industry,” but American cattle ranchers feared that Canadian cattle could spread disease within the U.S. and “make it impossible to resume the beef trade with Japan.” [Vote 19, 3/3/05; New York Times, 3/4/05] XXXX Voted to Not Allow Kobe Beef to Come Into U.S., Even If Japan Continued Ban on U.S. Beef. In 2005, XXXX was one of 26 Senators who voted to ban beef imports from Japan until that country opened its borders to U.S. beef. [Vote 236, 9/20/05; Omaha World-Herald, 9/21/05] XXXX Voted to Delay COOL For Two Years. XXXX voted for the FY04 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which gave retailers an extra two years to begin putting country-of-origin labels on food. Working with the Bush Administration, Republicans added an amendment to the Omnibus Bill that delayed the implementation of Country of Origin Labeling until 2006. The Bush Administration had been resisting implementation because meat packers and processors, especially large corporations like Tyson and Cargill Foods, do not favor COOL. These companies want it killed because they are afraid it will cut into profits. [Vote 3, 1/22/04; Aberdeen American News, 1/30/04; Washington Post, 2/3/04; Congressional Quarterly, 1/21/04] 7