Vermont's Patrick Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. He also sits on the Senate's Appropriations and Judiciary Committees. Leahy worked as an attorney before entering politics, and was elected to the Senate in 1974. Mr. Leahy was born in Montpelier, Vermont in 1940. He attended St. Michael's and Georgetown Universities.
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Like its House counterpart, the Senate Agriculture Committee adopts and amends all federal farm programs. Economic assistance to farmers -- or subsidies -- and restrictions on certain crops are major concerns of this committee. Agriculture Committee policy is determined under the scrutiny of interest groups such as the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers' Union.
