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Senate Passes Farm Bill in Record Vote
by
findingDulcinea Staff
In a 79-14 vote, the U.S. Senate approves a $286 billion farm bill providing new agricultural subsidies; the bill still faces a threatened presidential veto once it is combined with similar House legislation.
30-Second Summary
Despite the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 being passed in the Senate with the highest number of yea votes for a farm bill since 1973, it still has an uncertain future.
The bill has to be reconciled in a conference report with the House version, passed on July 27, which, unlike the Senate vote, failed to produce the two-thirds majority needed to protect it from a presidential veto.
A White House statement released on the day of the Senate vote threatened to block the legislation on the grounds that it would create new taxes.
“Congress has approved $22.4 billion dollars in new taxes that increase the size and scope of the federal government and damage the credibility of farm programs … For these reasons, the President's advisers would recommend he not sign this bill,” read the statement.
Other opponents of the bill argue that small farms receive too little in subsidies, as the richest 10 percent of farmers enjoy the lion’s share of available aid.
Proponents of the bill applaud Congress for providing more assistance to farmers when crops fail.
The Wall Street Journal explains that the bill has also triggered an investigation by the World Trade Organization into the possible violation of international commerce rules that limit subsidies to U.S. farmers.
The bill will be taken up by Senate and House Committees in a conference report in January 2008.
The bill has to be reconciled in a conference report with the House version, passed on July 27, which, unlike the Senate vote, failed to produce the two-thirds majority needed to protect it from a presidential veto.
A White House statement released on the day of the Senate vote threatened to block the legislation on the grounds that it would create new taxes.
“Congress has approved $22.4 billion dollars in new taxes that increase the size and scope of the federal government and damage the credibility of farm programs … For these reasons, the President's advisers would recommend he not sign this bill,” read the statement.
Other opponents of the bill argue that small farms receive too little in subsidies, as the richest 10 percent of farmers enjoy the lion’s share of available aid.
Proponents of the bill applaud Congress for providing more assistance to farmers when crops fail.
The Wall Street Journal explains that the bill has also triggered an investigation by the World Trade Organization into the possible violation of international commerce rules that limit subsidies to U.S. farmers.
The bill will be taken up by Senate and House Committees in a conference report in January 2008.
Headline Links: The bill and the WTO Investigation
On Dec. 14, the United States Senate passed a $268 billion farm bill. The Washington Post avers that while the bill makes few changes to U.S. agriculture subsidies, “It would update the food stamp program, raising from $2,000 to $3,000 the assets a recipient can have, and easing eligibility requirements. The bill would also provide funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup, livestock operators seeking help to meet federal clean-water requirements, and farmers willing to employ better conservation practices. Biofuel refineries producing ethanol from new sources, such as wood chips, switch grass or animal fats, would be eligible for federal loan guarantees and cash incentive payments.” Lastly, The Post explains that the bill would also provide $225 million dollars in aid so that more children can have free fruits and vegetables.
Source: The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal explains that the bill has triggered an investigation by the World Trade Organization into possible violations of international commerce rules that limit subsidies to U.S. farmers.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Web site offers the text of the Farm Bill and archived video on the Farm Bill markup proceedings. The final version of the Farm Bill is expected to be available by the end of the week.
Source: The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
Background: The bill’s beneficiaries
Earlier this summer, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), expressed the 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
The president of the Environmental Working Group, Ken Cook, explained to National Public Radio that the majority of farm subsidies are assigned without reference to 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: NPR
Opinions & Analysis: Supporters and opponents
In a press release dated Dec. 14, the White House expressed its disappointment with the passage of the Senate version of the farm bill. “Congress has approved $22.4 billion dollars in new taxes that increase the size and scope of the Federal government and damage the credibility of farm programs. In addition, Congress has refused to significantly limit farm income subsidies for the wealthiest Americans. For these reasons, the President's advisors would recommend he not sign this bill.”
Source: The White House
The Prairie Star, a Montana-based newspaper, provides the Montana Farm Bureau’s opinion on the passage of the Farm Bill. MFBF President Dave McClure stated, “The non-farm public might not realize it, but getting this legislation passed is critical to farmers and ranchers as they make their planting and livestock management decisions.”
Source: The Prairie Start
Philip Brasher, the Washington correspondent for the Des Moines Register, an Iowan publication, explains that the avowed reason the White House is likely to veto the Farm Bill is that it is funded through increased taxes. Brasher also examines how the House and Senate dealt with farm subsidies: “Both bills preserve the three main subsidy programs for grain and cotton farms. The Senate bill would set up a new disaster assistance program for farmers who lose crops to droughts or floods.”
Source: Des Moines Register
In a written statement, the President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Bob Stallman, lauded the passage of the Senate bill in that it “preserves a way of life that benefits all of American society.”
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation
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
Related Links: Senate floor debate and the Farm Bill itself
South Dakota Senator Conrad lauded the bill as a bipartisan achievement. “79 votes for this bill—and there are more votes for a farm bill than any farm bill going back to 1973, and that is with the Presidential candidates missing … No farm bill has had more votes than this bipartisan bill since 1973.”
Source: North Dakota CBS affiliate
The United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry has the Manager’s Amendment List. The Committee expects to have the full updated Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 published by the end of the week, Dec. 21.
Source: United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Reference Material: Conference report and the subsidy recipients
According to the United States Government Printing Office, “A conference report is an agreement on legislation that is negotiated between the House and Senate via conference committees. It is printed and submitted to each chamber for its consideration, such as approval or disapproval.”
Source: United States Government Printing Office
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, a watchdog and think tank, breaks down the commodity subsidies according to the districts represented by the House Agriculture Committee for 2003–2005. The 19 districts represented by the House Agriculture Committee members absorbed 42 percent of the subsidies.
Source: Environmental Working Group
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