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7/30/2007
The Farm Bill - like making sausage
You know the old adage – legislation is like making sausage – the result might be great, but you surely don’t want to watch the process.
Actually, lots of folks would argue that the results of the Farm Bill are not great. Representatives Ryan and Kind among them, believing major reform of the current subsidy system was critical. (As opposed to Representative Kagen who thinks the status quo plus all kinds of sweeteners is great.)
A Washington Post article Saturday shared the gory sausage-making details. It’s a really interesting read…
- House Speaker Pelosi stocked the Ag Committee with freshmen from rural states, hoping to better solidify their re-election in 2008, Representative Kagen, of course, included.
- House members made the Farm Bill a “Christmas-tree,” hanging an ornament for seemingly every interest group and certainly for those freshmen legislators needing to bring home accomplishments. (preservation of grasslands, a major study of Chesapeake Bay, credit and loan guarantees for biomass fuels, sugar subsidies, etc., etc.)
- Because of these new programs added to the bill (see Rep. Kagen’s press release for just a sampling), and because the democrats vowed (actually passed legislation) that increases in spending would always be offset by increases in revenues, democrats added controversial taxes (e.g., a “conservation fee” and foreign subsidiary tax) to the bill.
- Lo and behold, Republicans leaning toward supporting the bill jumped ship due to the added taxes.
- Alas alack, Pelosi now needed to find more Democrat votes. Here are just a few of the ways she got them.
o Huge artificial subsidies to cane and beet sugar growers
o Minor piece of tobacco farm subsidy removed to placate anti-tobacco forces
o $100 million to settle discrimination lawsuits filed by minority farmers.
Bill passes the House, 231-191. 741 pages. $286 billion.
So the Pelosi compromise worked. And be assured, if the Bill survives in this form, you and I will most certainly be paying for it.
The Senate will take up the bill in September; Senator Harkin seems to support the status quo, with payment limits perhaps “a little tougher” than those in the House bill.
The Senate and House bills will go to conference (more sausage-making).
The President has threatened a veto due to insufficient reforms of the subsidy system.
What a mess. A big, expensive mess.
COMMENTS
The farm bill is always a bigg'n.
Kagen was on WPR last week or the week before and mentioned the positives of the Farm bill, notably making a path for local farmers to provide produce to local schools.
But apparently international food for humanity groups are taking a beating on it.
Maybe Garrison Keillor (Flak for Cargill on radio and ubiquitous syndicated columnist) will be able to straighten it out for me.
Then again, these types of relevant issues are not likely to be addressed since we are all above average and good looking and know it all already.
Not.
OK, fresh produce at schools. Touchy feely stuff. Great stuff for Rep. Kagen to trumpet. But let's look at the meat of the bill. No reform. Huge subsidies to huge farms, and the small farmer still isn't protected. It was time for reform, and we got fresh produce in the schools. JE
Lon Ponschock (Mon Jul 30 14:11:50 2007)
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