Farm aid promised Lincoln may not come by deadline

By ANDREW DeMILLO

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

A $1.5 billion farm aid package sought by Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln as she faces a tough re-election fight may not be funded by the end of the month as the White House promised, a spokeswoman for the Senate Agriculture Committee said Monday.

Lincoln, the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, had received a commitment from the Office of Management and Budget that the aid package would be funded administratively by Tuesday. Senate Agriculture Committee spokeswoman Courtney Rowe said Monday it's possible that won't happen.

"She's continuing to work with the White House and with USDA to find a way forward in delivering the assistance," Rowe said Monday. "We should have details to announce soon."

Rowe said Lincoln still has a commitment from the White House that it will fund the package. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Lincoln has said she secured a commitment from the Obama administration to provide disaster aid for farmers who lost crops in 2009 after it was taken out of a small business bill. Lincoln received a letter from the OMB earlier this month assuring her the aid package would be funded by the end of August.

"I want to assure you that the administration is committed to finding assistance consistent with your legislative proposal by the end of this month. OMB and USDA are aware of existing authorities and are currently reviewing the most appropriate manner by which to provide such assistance," Acting Deputy Director Robert L. Nabors II said in the letter dated Aug. 6.

The aid package sought by Lincoln is separate from the permanent disaster aid program in the 2008 Farm Bill.

The package has been criticized by Republicans who accuse the White House of trying to help Lincoln during a tough re-election bid. Lincoln, a Democrat, is seeking a third term and is trailing Republican Congressman John Boozman in most polls.

The Environmental Working Group has said about $210 million of the aid would go to farmers in Arkansas.

Boozman has said the aid package should go through Congress.

"The Congressman has supported disaster relief for Arkansas's farmers from the beginning. However, he has insisted that we have the ability to pay for the program first," Patrick Creamer, a spokesman for Boozman's campaign said in a Monday statement.

Lincoln says there is precedence for the funding and has released a list of 19 programs that have been paid for using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's administrative funds since 1999.

Lincoln's campaign earlier Monday defended the package and highlighted editorials in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and the New York Times criticizing the deal.

"It's not surprising that the editorial page writers of the New York Times wouldn't stand up for Arkansas's farm families but an Arkansas congressman should know better," Lincoln campaign manager Steve Patterson said in a blog post on Lincoln's campaign site.

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Associated Press Writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.