Senator John Thune says he thinks the Senate will spend the rest of this week and the majority of next week debating Farm Bill legislation.  Thune says that's because of all the amendments that have been filed.  He says those include the ones he plans to offer himself regarding child farm labor laws, the repeal of state taxes and crop insurance.  Thune says, "In the group of 240 amendments that are out there it's hard to say exactly whether or not we'll get an opportunity or not to offer those, but I'm pretty pleased with where the bill is today and the things we were able to get included in that legislature on the Ag. Committee floor before it reached the Senate floor."

Thune says he hopes to move the final passage of the bill out of the Senate so the House can take action on the Senate version.  He also says he hopes to get the bill on the President's desk by September 30th when the current bill expires.

Tessa Thomas