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Compromise Boosts Farm Bill's Chances
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Bipartisan efforts to include additional funding gives new hope to supporters of a bill stalled by the threat of a White House veto.
30-Second Summary
The Wall Street Journal reports that the bill, proposed by House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.), offers $6 billion in farm-spending increases over the next 10 years.
This latest version of the farm bill was drafted with the help of the White House. Lawmakers hope it will reopen negotiations with the Senate and eventually produce a bill that is acceptable to both the Bush administration and Congress.
On Oct. 25, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry passed a $280 billion bill for agriculture and nutrition programs that included subsidies for farmers.
The White House had threatened to veto the original farm bill, passed in October 2007, because it failed to limit farm income subsidies for the wealthiest Americans.
This latest version of the farm bill was drafted with the help of the White House. Lawmakers hope it will reopen negotiations with the Senate and eventually produce a bill that is acceptable to both the Bush administration and Congress.
On Oct. 25, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry passed a $280 billion bill for agriculture and nutrition programs that included subsidies for farmers.
The White House had threatened to veto the original farm bill, passed in October 2007, because it failed to limit farm income subsidies for the wealthiest Americans.
Headline Links: The new Farm Bill
The Wall Street Journal reports that most of the money from the added $6 billion would go to nutrition programs, such as food stamps for low-income families. In addition, part of the money would also go to the development of biofuel and renewable energy programs.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
South Dakota newspaper the Argus Leader reports that Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) says the Senate is stalling the farm bill. Sandline goes on to say that although there are many things she doesn’t like about the proposed negotiations, she is willing to compromise in order to get the bill signed into law.
Source: Argus Leader
“Farm bill insider” and U.S. agricultural policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer offers The Prairie Star his take on the bills sluggish progress: “The House passed its farm bill in late July, and it took the Senate nearly three months later to complete their version. That three-month delay is part of the problem now as Congress races the March 15 deadline when the 2002 Farm Bill extension expires.”
Source: The Prairie Star
Background: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Web site carries the text of the Farm Bill, archived video on the Farm Bill markup proceedings, as well as the latest updates and information on the bill.
Source: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
Bill beneficiaries
Earlier this summer, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), expressed his hope that the current farm subsidy bill would be revamped to include more farmers. “We have to consider new ideas. We should not cling to a system that channels ever larger commodity payments to relatively few, with two-thirds of American farmers getting none at all,” stated Sen. Harkin in June.
Source: The New York Times
Environmental Working Group
The president of the Environmental Working Group, Ken Cook, explained to National Public Radio that the majority of farm subsidies are given to farmers regardless of commodity prices. In addition, farmers can receive the payments whether or not they are actively growing crops. Cook asserts that a small percentage of farmers receive the majority of subsidies: “About 10 percent of the beneficiaries, very large and generally wealthy operations, get over 70 percent of the benefits, and so the payments are very concentrated … It’s important to remember that two-thirds of the farmers in this country are not in this program at all.”
Source: National Public Radio
Opinion & Analysis: U.S. farm subsidies and world markets
Time magazine examines the Farm Bill passed by the House in July 2007 and considers how this type of financial aid reduces world cotton prices by encouraging overproduction.
Source: Time magazine
Reference Material: The farm bill beneficiaries
The United States Department of Agriculture provides a map showing the concentration of Farm Bill subsidy beneficiaries in Manhattan, New York.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a watchdog and think tank, breaks down the commodity subsidies according to the districts represented by the House Agriculture Committee for 2003–2005. Forty-two percent of the subsidies went to the 19 districts represented by the House Agriculture Committee members.
Source: Environmental Working Group
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