Free Republic

The five-year $300 billion farm bill passed recently by Congress may be veto-proof, but it's not idiot-proof. Lawmakers let interest groups--an iron triangle of shipping companies, crop producers and antihunger groups--plow over plans to overhaul the way $2.5 billion in international food aid gets donated. They protected Cold War-era rules that require buying surplus crops from American farmers and then shipping them overseas via mostly U.S.-flagged ships--a system that costs taxpayers 21% more than if the same commodities were purchased overseas, estimates Christopher Barrett, who teaches agricultural economics at Cornell University. This cost breakdown of a recent USAid shipment of...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress on Thursday sent a $290 billion farm bill to President Bush for a second time in an effort to fix a printing error that has threatened the delivery of U.S. food aid abroad. To ensure that the aid continues amid a global hunger crisis, Congress and Bush were planning to pass, veto and enact the bill to provide farm subsidies, food stamps and other nutrition programs over the next five years. The Senate passed the bill 77-15, two weeks after the discovery that 34 pages of the legislation extending those aid programs were missing from the...

Lawmakers, including many Republicans, voted to spend more than half a trillion dollars last month - signaling what's in store for taxpayers if Democrats win additional seats in Congress this November. The spending spree included a whopping $300 billion farm bill, loaded down with subsidies for millionaire farmers and pork-filled provisions that won the support of 100 House Republicans who voted to override President Bush's veto. The squandering also includes a fat-filled $250 billion supplemental bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, plus $52 billion in tuition benefits for veterans and other domestic expenditures that passed the Senate by a...

Recently Congress sent the latest Farm Bill to the president. The bill features brand new federal programs, expansion of existing subsidies, more food stamps and more foreign food aid. This bill hits the taxpayer hard, while at the same time ensuring food prices will remain elevated. The president vetoed the bill, citing concerns over its costs and subsidies for the wealthy in a time of high food prices and record farm income. Nevertheless, this over-reaching, government-expanding Farm Bill will soon be law.

When lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week, a group of House Republicans known as the FIT Force will unveil an effort to expose Washington waste. Led by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), this newly formed Fiscal Integrity Task Force wants to hold congressional spendthrifts accountable for their excesses. McCotter’s goal is admirable—and one that all Americans, regardless of ideology, should support. Unfortunately, the group’s timing couldn’t be worse. That’s because McCotter and half of the FIT Force members themselves abandoned fiscal integrity less than two weeks ago. That’s when they voted to override President Bush’s veto of the farm bill,...

But no matter how many times Ryan or his allies scream “I get it” from the mountaintop and vow to do the right thing if returned to power, the voters will not believe them until they believe his colleagues are capable of acting in a way that is consistent with conservative principles and contrary to their parochial, political interests. The voters seem to be saying: do something out of character. Admit you were wrong about something. Give me a reason to pay attention to all those 10-point action plans you’re waving around. Imagine the public’s reaction if 50 or so...

Here is what the Center for Rural Affairs, a nonprofit rural advocacy group, said about the federal farm bill: "This farm bill primarily serves the vested interests of mega farms at the expense of family farmers and ordinary rural Americans. " That's an apt description of the outdated $290 billion bill, bloated by subsidies and pork, which three members of Wisconsin 's House delegation and both of the state's senators supported. President Bush tried to stop this legislative mistake with a veto, but Congress quickly overrode it.The infliction of the costly, misdirected farm bill on the American public highlights how...

CAPITOL HILL (AP) -- Brushing aside a veto by President Bush, Congress today enacted a massive election-year farm bill. The 82-13 vote in the Senate followed a 316-108 vote in the House last night. However, not all of the bill that Congress passed last week is becoming law right away. Because of a printing error, the version that Bush vetoed was missing 34 pages on international food aid and trade. That mistake may require Congress to send the White House yet another bill. House Republicans called the error a sign of the Democrats' incompetence, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Democrats moved forward with plans to override President Bush's veto of a $290 billion farm bill Thursday despite a printing error that has turned a triumphant political victory into a vexing embarrassment. It seems that no one read the bill after it was printed on parchment paper and sent to the White House, where Bush vetoed it Wednesday. Missing was a 34-page section on international food aid and trade. Democratic leaders in the House decided to pass the bill again, including the missing section in the version that Bush got. That vote was 306-110, again enough to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House overwhelmingly rejected President Bush's veto Wednesday of a $290 billion farm bill, but what should have been a stinging defeat for the president became an embarrassment for Democrats. Only hours before the House's 316-108 vote, Bush had vetoed the five-year measure, saying it was too expensive and gave too much money to wealthy farmers when farm incomes are high. The Senate then was expected to follow suit quickly. Action stalled, however, after the discovery that Congress had omitted a 34-page section of the bill when lawmakers sent the massive measure to the White House. That...

The House overwhelmingly rejected George W. Bush's veto Wednesday of a $290 billion farm bill, but what should have been a stinging defeat for the president became an embarrassing episode for Democrats. Only hours before the House's 316-108 vote, Bush had vetoed the five-year measure, saying it was too expensive and gave too much money to wealthy farmers when farm incomes are high. The Senate then was expected to follow suit quickly. Action stalled, however, after the discovery that Congress had omitted a 34-page section of the bill when lawmakers sent the massive measure to the White House. That means...

WASHINGTON — The House quickly rejected George W. Bush's veto Wednesday of a $290 billion farm bill and the Senate was poised to follow suit, a stark rebuke of a president overridden only once in his two terms. Only hours before the House's 316-108 vote, Bush had vetoed the five-year measure, saying it was too expensive and gave too much money to wealthy farmers when farm incomes are high. The legislation includes election-year subsidies for farmers and food stamps for the poor — spending that lawmakers could promote when they are back in their districts over the Memorial Day weekend....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush vetoed the $300 billion farm bill on Wednesday, calling it a tax increase on regular Americans at a time of high food prices in the face of a near-certain override by Congress. It was the 10th veto of Bush's presidency. But since it passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof majorities, his action will likely be overridden. The president believes the legislation is fiscally irresponsible and gives away too much money to wealthy farmers, yet his criticism rang hollow with lawmakers from both parties who voted for increased crop subsidies, food stamps for the poor...

The Republicans in Congress continue to baffle me. They are spending all of their time trying to use the marketing tool of “re-branding” the party, while at the same time they refuse to vote against terrible public policy. The most recent example is the disastrous farm bill that the Senate passed overwhelmingly. The House has already passed the bill, and although President Bush will veto it, Congress will likely override the veto. As long as the Republicans in Congress pay lip service to conservatism while voting like liberals, they deserve to lose in November. Those leading the Republicans down the...

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, at age 38 and having served less than five terms, did not leap over a dozen of his seniors to become ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee by bashing GOP leaders. But an angry Ryan last Wednesday delivered unscripted remarks on the House floor as the farm bill neared passage: "This bill is an absence of leadership. This bill shows we are not leading." Ryan's fellow reformer, 45-year-old Jeff Flake of Arizona, in his fourth term, is less cautious about defying the leadership and has been kept off key committees. On Wednesday, he said...

Too much spending: The bill increases spending by almost $20 billion over the next ten years, at a time when net farm income is at an all-time high. Much of this additional spending is disguised by budget gimmicks that take advantage of formal scoring rules to hide real spending increases. New sugar program: The bill would make the government buy sugar for 2X the world price, store it, then resell it at about an 80% loss to the taxpayer. Sugar sells for about 11¢/lb on the world market. The US government would have to buy sugar for about 22¢/lb, store...

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday approved a five-year, $307 billion farm bill with wide bipartisan support, virtually sealing President Bush’s defeat in a battle over agriculture policy. Mr. Bush has promised to veto the bill because he says it would not do enough to limit subsidies at a time of record grain prices. His advisers said Thursday that he had every intention of making good on that vow. The Senate vote, 81 to 15, with 35 Republicans in favor, guarantees an easy override of a veto. The House passed the bill on Wednesday, 318 to 106, also far more...

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a five-year, $307 billion farm bill, sending it to President Bush for what is expected to be his futile veto. The 81-to-15 Senate vote, like the 318-to-106 House vote on Wednesday, attracted broad bipartisan support and received far more than the two-thirds that would be needed to override Mr. Bush’s veto, should he keep his pledge to wield his pen. Mr. Bush has said he wants to sharply limit government subsidies to farmers at a time of near-record commodity prices and soaring global demand for grain. Most legislators were not...

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 "You're Going to Lose If You Keep This Up"   [Kathryn Jean Lopez] As Sean Hannity issued the above warning to congressional Republicans today on his show, the House — including enough Republicans (100) to amass a veto-proof majority — passed the pork-laden farm bill. We editorialized on the bill: The program is nothing more than a massive income transfer from American taxpayers to a small handful of very large producers who grow just a few crops; the program can’t be serving the purposes its defenders claim it does — ensuring a stable food supply and...

Agriculture: The subsidy-stuffed farm bill just passed by Congress is a monster that will leave us with less food at higher prices. The president should veto it right away and force this foolish Congress to override him.Congress may think it's doing the "people's work," as they like to say, but the pork-laden, market-distorting farm bill is anything but. In fact, it's an obscene waste of money that will leave us all poorer and hungrier for the effort. As of now, though, it looks like it will become law. The measure passed the House on Wednesday by a veto-proof margin of...

WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly approved a $300 billion farm bill on Wednesday afternoon, making it probable that the measure will become law despite President Bush’s anticipated veto. The 318-to-106 vote, far over the two-thirds needed to override a veto, sends the bill to the Senate, where the measure is also expected to have veto-proof support. Although predictions can be dicey in political Washington, the measure’s strength in the Senate has been seen as even more robust than in the House. The House result, with 100 Republicans joining 218 Democrats to vote for the bill, made good on the predictions...

There is an old adage in economics suggesting that it is possible to determine whether a country is developed or not by observing its farm policies. Developed nations such as the United States and those in the EU subsidize their farmers, while developing nations subsidize their cities by setting price controls on farm products. This year’s $300 billion farm bill truly puts the United States in the developed camp. Despite record high prices for crops, the U.S. Congress is moving forward with a massive new farm bill that boosts subsidies while expanding government control over agriculture. It is not surprising...

There will be unmelted snowballs in Hades before this Congress agrees to cut out the pork in the farm bill headed for a vote within the next week, so President Bush should get his veto pen ready. At an estimated cost of at least $285 billion over 10 years, this will be the most expensive and regressive farm bill ever. Given how Congress uses budget gimmicks these days to hide the real costs of many of the bills it approves, that $285 billion figure is almost certainly too low. If there was a truth-in-spending law with real teeth in it,...

WASHINGTON - The White House told members of Congress on Tuesday that the cost of the five-year farm bill is still too high, saying negotiators are using budget gimmicks to hide the real expense. The cost of the almost $300 billion bill and the amount of subsidies directed toward wealthy farmers remain the major sticking points between the White House and both Democratic and GOP negotiators. President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation. Negotiators are weighing reports from congressional budget experts on what the bill would cost under several scenarios. They are now considering eliminating some government payments to...

How can the world's hungriest schoolchildren be denied meals while the farm bill being debated in a House-Senate conference provides millions in subsidies for wealthy farmers? That's what Congress proposes. In all fairness, it should not become law. We are puzzled that Congress wants to increase overall farm bill spending by billions of dollars yet reduce by more than 90 percent the mandatory funding to feed hungry children. The program at issue saves lives and has a proven ability to break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness in poor countries. We are not expressing disagreement because the program, supported by...

McCain says he would veto farm bill Published: May 2, 2008 at 9:11 PM DES MOINES, Iowa, May 2 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told an audience of Iowans that if he were president, he would veto a farm subsidy bill now making its way through Congress. "I do not support it. I would veto it," McCain told the audience of about 250 people in Des Moines Thursday. "I would do that because I believe that these subsidies, the subsidies are unnecessary." The Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee later told The Des Moines Register in an interview, "At this...

The $300 billion farm bill is being cobbled together by Congress this week. As Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) noted, "It's not just a farm bill. This is a farm and a food and an energy bill." As Otto von Bismarck quipped, "Laws are like sausage. It's better not to see them being made." Let's take a look at these three aspects of this unappetizing piece of sausage. First, what do the farmers get? Answer: A lot. Last year, net farm income reached a record level of nearly $89 billion due to high crop prices. Farm household income...

To paraphrase the late, great William F. Buckley, Jr., someone must stand athwart the federal ethanol program yelling, “Stop!” The emergency brake should be pulled -- NOW -- before ethanol wreaks further havoc. Poor Haitians rioted last week outside Port-au-Prince’s presidential palace, forcing Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis’ April 12 ouster. Haitians are enduring food prices 40 percent higher than last summer’s. Some have resorted to eating cookies made of salt, vegetable oil, and dirt. That’s right: Dirt cookies. Developing-world denizens are taking it to the streets with growling stomachs. In Bob Marley’s words, “A hungry man is an angry...

March 7, 2008 Pelosi Wants a Farm Bill and Food v. Fuel is about to Get Uglier This week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stomped her foot, saying she wants a Farm Bill out of conference by March 15, and saying, yet again, she won’t support extending 2002 Farm Bill programs past that mid-March deadline. Well, welcome to the world of Farm Bill politics, Madame Speaker. But -- be careful want you ask for/demand/order – because you just might get it. This is one more time where Pelosi puts timing and deadlines ahead of the quality of the product. Sitting on...

Conference committee gives Pelosi, Reid a last opportunity to cut pork in farm bill - The next time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid talk about ending poverty, stopping giveaways for wealthy corporations and finding bipartisan solutions, remember their work on the 2007 farm bill.Before adjourning for the holidays, the Senate endorsed a $286 billion farm bill that is only slightly less wasteful and indefensible than the porkfest the House passed earlier in the year.Despite a few nods at "reform," the Senate bill continues and expands subsidies for millionaire corporate farmers. It undercuts growers in Africa and...

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The farm bill approved by the Senate last week moved Congress a step closer to reopening a landmark discrimination case against the Agriculture Department. Like its companion bill in the House, the Senate measure would give thousands of black farmers another chance at seeking compensation over claims that they were denied loans or other crop subsidies because of their race. Critics have charged that farmers had plenty of time to win claims under the original settlement that USDA agreed to in 1999. Reopening the matter now could cost several billion dollars and reward questionable claimants who...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The Senate on Friday approved a $286 billion farm bill with an election-year expansion of subsidies for growers and food stamps for the poor. The bill, passed on a 79-14 vote, expands subsidies for wheat, barley, oat, soybeans and several other crops and creates new grants for vegetable and fruit growers. It also increase loan rates for sugar producers, extends dairy programs and provide more dollars for renewable energy and conservation programs to protect environmentally sensitive farmland over the next five years. President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation, saying it costs too much and should...

Congress can still act decisively this year to right a wrong that is hurting both small American farmers and the poorest people on the planet. A long-overdue debate is taking place on reform of the 1933 farm bill, passed during the Great Depression to alleviate the suffering of America's family farmers. I was a farm boy then, and the primary cash crops on my father's farm were peanuts and cotton. My first paying job was working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, measuring farmers' fields to ensure that they limited their acreage and total production in order to qualify for...

The Senate blocked a $286 billion farm bill Friday, a blow to farm-state lawmakers who wanted to give their constituents expanded subsidies before next year's elections. Though politically popular, the bill stalled in a dispute between the parties over unrelated amendments that Republicans wanted to add. Democrats failed to get the 60 votes they needed to cut off debate on the measure. The final vote was 55-42. The vote could push consideration of the legislation into 2008 or beyond. Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said Thursday that the bill may fare better after next year's elections, with a new...

The Senate farm bill may have to wait until after next year's elections, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin said Thursday. The $286 billion bill, which extends agriculture and nutrition programs, has been stalled for more than a week in the Senate, where Republicans and Democrats are bickering over how many amendments to the bill will be offered. Harkin suggested Thursday that extending current farm law for one year is an option if a Democratic attempt to cut off debate fails on Friday. That move requires the votes of 60 of the 100 senators. Republicans have balked at a Democratic...

Thursday, November 15, 2007 What Fred Said [Larry Kudlow] I just sat down with presidential candidate Fred Thompson, for an interview that will air tonight on Kudlow & Company. The former Tennessee senator was in good form. He attacked Warren Buffet’s tax-hike proposal on the rich as totally wrong, and Buffett himself as nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Democratic party. He agreed with Dick Armey that the GOP will lose if it departs from the first principles of limited government and lower tax rates. He called the farm bill “disgraceful” and would veto it if he were president....

  The debate over immigration amnesty could soon return to the Senate floor. According to press reports, Senator Diane Feinstein (D–CA) plans to attach the proposed Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007 (AgJOBS) to the Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007. The AgJOBS bill is all too similar to the comprehensive immigration reform bill that was rejected in Congress last spring, which would have granted amnesty to millions of people who are unlawfully present in the United States. Amnesty would worsen the immigration problem in America, encouraging more illegal border crossings and undermining the credibility of American...

Farmers, immigrants and their Capitol Hill allies are hoping to graft an agricultural guest-worker plan onto the multibillion-dollar farm bill. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-San Francisco, hasn't yet decided whether to push the controversial guest-worker measure when the Senate considers the farm bill next week. Behind the scenes, though, proponents are counting votes and lobbying furiously. "Now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty, where real hard decisions have to be made," said Dan Haley, a lobbyist for the California Strawberry Commission and other farm groups. "We can't wait around." Tactically, this is a very tough call. The decisions made in coming...

Have a look at the map of Manhattan below (used recently by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in a speech). The red dots indicate people who live in Manhattan (and so clearly are neither hurting for money nor tilling the soil on the family farm) but receive agricultural subsidies from the federal government. Have a look at the map of Manhattan below (used recently by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in a speech). The red dots indicate people who live in Manhattan (and so clearly are neither hurting for money nor tilling the soil on the soil on the family farm) but...

Eric Nelson, a fourth-generation rancher and farmer who operates a feedlot, isn't looking for more government cash. He just wants a little help from the Senate when it debates a farm bill this fall. Nelson and many other family ranchers in the Midwest and West are hoping Congress can help them fight the gradual consolidation of the meat industry, which they say is hurting their business. A handful of large meatpacking companies slaughtered 80 percent of steers and heifers in 2005, up 30 percent from 20 years ago. "We just want a level playing field, an environment in which we...

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) made his yearly appearance in Trempealeau County this Tuesday to a room full of anxious, opinionated, and frustrated citizens at the Blair-Preston Community Center. Feingold opened the listening session by calling attention to the upcoming Senate debate over the Farm Bill, a bill he stressed is very important for rural Wisconsin residents. He intends to fight for several provisions in the bill, including extending the MILC program, increasing support for local farmers and farmers’ markets, and increasing access to broadband internet in rural America. Not one member of the audience was interested in discussing the...

While the TV cameras and newspaper headlines have been focused on the Senate's struggle with high-profile immigration issues, a less-visible drama has been unfolding on Capitol Hill that also provides a clear test of whether the 110th Congress is capable of producing good public policy. The farm bill, which governs a wide range of federal programs from farm subsidies to food stamps, is being rewritten this year. Previous farm bills, especially the 2002 version, are noted for their smoke-and-mirror rhetoric, fancy procedural footwork and bipartisan lack of political courage. So far, this year's farm-bill drama appears to be no exception...

Every five to seven years Congress grapples with sweeping legislation that is commonly called "the farm bill." But that simple name belies the complexity of the bill, which is broken into 10 sections that extend well beyond mere subsidies for farmers—the most controversial and perennially debated initiative in the bill. These categories, or "titles," also include energy, trade, conservation, nutrition and rural development, in addition to agricultural commodities. With so much covered in the farm bill, a variety and multitude of interests are flocking to Capitol Hill to make sure they receive a bite of the money allocated for the...

WASHINGTON -- A new Rand Corp. study showing the falling costs of ethanol, wind power and other forms of renewable energy predicts such sources could furnish as much as 25% of the U.S.'s conventional energy by 2025 at little or no additional expense. A second renewable-energy report soon to be released by the National Academy of Sciences suggests wood chips may become a plentiful source of ethanol and electricity for industrial nations because their forested areas are expanding, led by the U.S. and China. Because use of renewable fuels to replace oil and cut emissions of carbon dioxide is an...

Although most provisions of the current U.S. farm bill won't expire until September 2007, a group of senators recently proposed extending it until after the Doha Round of global trade negotiations is complete. Extending the farm bill -- damaging though it is -- will "send a signal to our trading partners," says one of the legislation's sponsors. It certainly will. At a time when leadership in the global trade talks is sadly lacking and desperately needed, the signal will be a big fat raspberry. An extension will also delay for yet another year the opportunity to reform a policy that...

House Votes to Postpone Meat Labels in Grocery StoresBy Libby Quaid Associated Press Writer Published: Jun 8, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) - The House voted Wednesday to block the government from requiring labels that would tell shoppers from what country their meat comes. Congress already had postponed the labeling from its original date of 2004 to September 2006. The House action would stop the Agriculture Department from spending money on the new requirement. The postponement was part of a $100 billion spending bill for food and farm programs in the budget year that begins Oct. 1. The House passed the bill...

District 19 foes come out swinging BY CORY CHANDLER AVALANCHE-JOURNAL The claws came out over redistricting during Tuesday's District 19 congressional debate. While the first face-to-face meeting between three District 19 candidates provided an arena for sparring over several issues, Tuesday's debate got heated after Democrat Charlie Stenholm was asked for his thoughts on the state's new congressional district map. Republican Randy Neugebauer, Stenholm, and Libertarian Chip Peterson met in Texas Tech's Allen Theatre for the first of two debates. The candidates fielded nine questions spanning Social Security, defense, agriculture and other issues. Stenholm scored the night's first outburst of...

American Farm Bill Threatens Chinese Farmers: Analysis Not long ago, US President George W. Bush signed a new farm bill of US$180 billion over 10 years. The new farm law will substantially increase price guarantees for American crops such as corn and wheat and will increase new subsidies for others such as soybeans. However, great challenges are facing Chinese farmers due to our obvious agricultural disadvantages. PRINT DISCUSSION CHINESE SEND TO FRIEND Not long ago, US President George W. Bush signed a new farm bill of US$180 billion over 10 years. The new farm law will substantially increase price guarantees...

Nation & World 12/15/03By Michael BaroneChoice and accountability Browse through an archive of columns by Michael Barone. Many conservatives are complaining that George W. Bush is a big-government conservative--or not a conservative at all. They complain about the Medicare prescription drug law he and the House and Senate Republican leadership pushed through, the first major expansion of Medicare since 1965. They call him a big spender, noting that discretionary spending has been rising more rapidly than under Bill Clinton. They complain that he pushed through the first education bill giving the federal government a role in setting standards. They complain...

WINNIPEG - The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday imposed a 3.94 per cent tariff against Canadian wheat exports, a much lower duty than Canadian trade officials expected. The preliminary duties are the result of a U.S. Commerce Department trade law investigation into Canadian exports of durum wheat and hard red spring wheat into U.S. markets. American trade officials and American farmers allege Canada unfairly subsidizes the exports by undercutting the price of U.S. wheat. In its decision, the Commerce Department says a preliminary investigation shows material damage to farmers from the Canadian imports. The Canadian Wheat Board controls the sale...