Farm bill: The Chesapeake Bay stands to benefit from a $288 billion farm bill approved by Congress last week. Almost $400 million dollars of the bill is directed to reducing sediments in the bay.

"It's particularly of concern to my farmers who need to comply with environmental regulations and need help to change the way they run their farms and recognize people downstream," said Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th, the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee.

The bill passed with a veto-proof vote, 318-106Wednesday and a similarly wide margin in the Senate on Thursday.

The bill would increase conservation spending by nearly $8 billion and spend $10 billion on nutritional programs. President Bush had vowed to veto the bill for not doing enough to limit subsidies to wealthy farmers.

Moving ships: Seeking to prevent Navy ships based in Norfolk from being moved to Florida, Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd, succeeded in changing a military spending bill Wednesday to force the Navy to study the economic impact of relocating the vessels.

A Navy report has laid out 13 alternatives for moving surface ships to a home port at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla. Drake's amendment would require the secretary of the Navy to submit an additional report on the potential impacts on the community that will give up surface ships before finalizing a decision on the ship movements.

The Norfolk Naval Station is currently the home port for about 70 Navy vessels.

Sick leave: Rep. James P. Moran, D-8th, has found new ammunition in his quest to reform federal sick-leave laws.

A Treasury Department report on IRS workers in 2005 and 2006 found the current "use it or lose it" sick-leave policy led employees to use more sick leave as they neared retirement. Moran said the policy is bad for morale and costs taxpayers $68 million a year in lost productivity.

Federal employees hired since 1984 do not get compensation for unused sick time. Moran has introduced a bill to give retiring workers a lump-sum payment of up to $10,000 for unused sick leave. -- Neil Simon Media General News Service