The full House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm Bill early Thursday morning by a vote of 35 to 11.  The legislation now moves to the House floor.

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A House Agriculture Subcommittee holds a hearing to examine sections of the 2012 House Farm Bill dealing with energy-creating crops used for biofuels. 

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The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing with two top U.S. Southern and Northern Commanders on the Defense Authorization Request for 2013 and the future of the defense program.

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Former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine answered questions about his former firm’s collapse.  Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Jill Sommers also testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee.

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House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittees held a joint hearing to examine a U.S. Forest Service draft plan banning horizontal drilling for oil and gas on federal lands in Virginia and West Virginia. Hydraulic drilling, known as fracking, injects water and chemicals into underground rock to release natural gas into wells.  Witnesses included representatives from the Interior Department, U.S. Forest Service, the oil & gas industry and environmental advocacy groups.

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A House Agriculture subcommittee looked at provisions in the new financial regulations law governing speculation in metals, energy and agricultural commodities.  The law requires the Commodity Futures Exchange Commission to devise rules for position limits, which are essentially restrictions on the number of bets traders can make on a certain commodity.  Witnesses include CFTC chairman Gary Gensler, as well as one of the CFTC commissioners. Also appearing were commodities brokers and representatives of trade groups.

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