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Brian4Liberty
01-29-2014, 02:09 PM
What are the pros and cons of the Farm Bill passed today by the US House?



Cochran Statement on House Passage of the 2014 Farm Bill
Wednesday, January 29, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today issued the following statement regarding the House of Representatives vote to approve the conference agreement on the Agricultural Act of 2014 (HR.2642). The five-year farm bill was approved on a 251-166 vote on Wednesday.

“I am pleased with the large, bipartisan and regionally-diverse vote in the House for the 2014 farm bill. This important legislation culminates years of work to reform and improve agriculture policies, while reducing federal spending. I appreciate that all the members of the Mississippi delegation supported it, and I look forward to Senate approval in the next few days.”

http://www.ag.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cochran-statement-on-house-passage-of-the-2014-farm-bill



Chairwoman Stabenow Statement on House Passage of 2014 Farm Bill
Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the following statement regarding the House’s vote to pass The Agricultural Act of 2014.

“We are on the verge of achieving major reform. Today’s House vote puts us one step closer to finally enacting a five-year Farm Bill that helps farmers and businesses create jobs across the country and saves taxpayers billions. This bill eliminates unnecessary subsidies, creates a more effective farm safety-net and strengthens our commitment to conservation of land and water.

“It’s now up to the Senate to take the final step. The Senate has twice passed the farm bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. I have no doubt we’ll do it again, and show that it is possible to do something to reduce the deficit and boost the economy when people work across the aisle.”

“My congratulations, and my thanks, to my House colleagues, Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson, for their commitment to American agriculture, and their friendship throughout this process.”

http://www.ag.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/chairwoman-stabenow-statement-on-house-passage-of-2014-farm-bill-

Brett85
01-29-2014, 02:10 PM
Pros-It contains a partial legalization of hemp.

Cons-Everything else.

Brian4Liberty
01-29-2014, 02:27 PM
FreedomWorks (Matt Kibbe) had this:


As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask that he or she vote NO on the Farm Bill conference report in the House, H.R. 2462. This final agreement reached between the House and Senate actually manages to be worse than the bills passed by each chamber separately, and does nothing to contain the hundreds of billions in spending on corporate welfare for farm corporations and an out-of-control food stamp program.

After spending several months germinating in a conference committee, the Farm Bill that has suddenly sprouted in Congress is a nearly $1 trillion debacle that renews nearly every bit of the original bill’s market-distorting crop insurance subsidies and price supports for five years.

In addition, in attempting to pass this bill, the House Republican leadership is reneging on the one good accomplishment of last year’s contentious Farm Bill negotiations – the separation of food stamps from the main agricultural portion of the bill. Allowing food stamps to continue to be used like a giant earmark to attract the votes of urban members of Congress guarantees that the program will see no significant reforms, even as it spends over $700 billion in the next ten years.

Finally, the House leadership has once again brought up a giant (this time 950-page) bill with not even two full days to read it. This is the irresponsible practice of a body concerned only with perpetuating its own profligate spending habits, and not that of a Republican majority committed to limiting government.
...
More:
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/mkibbe/key-vote-no-on-the-farm-bill-conference-report-in

Brian4Liberty
01-29-2014, 02:43 PM
Pros-It contains a partial legalization of hemp.


Isn't it just for Universities to do small agricultural studies?

Brett85
01-29-2014, 03:04 PM
Isn't it just for Universities to do small agricultural studies?

Yes. By "partial legalization" I just meant that it's not a bill to remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances.

Acala
01-29-2014, 03:32 PM
Three cheers for crony-capitalism!

gwax23
01-29-2014, 04:09 PM
Its basically shit thats been febreez-ed (consider the febreeze the "partial" legalization)

Occam's Banana
01-29-2014, 05:07 PM
Three cheers for crony-capitalism!

Hip-hip-hooray!
Hip-hip- .... aw, to hell with it ...

Brian4Liberty
01-29-2014, 05:29 PM
Farm Bill Spending Up 49 Percent


However, the 2014 farm bill is not a cut at all when compared to the 2008 farm bill, which was projected to cost $640 billion over 10 years. That is a 49 percent spending increase.

Sure, the new bill shuffles the farm subsidy deck chairs, but the bill’s main budget attribute is that it ratifies the huge recent increase in food stamp spending. The House bill had proposed trimming a modest $39 billion (5 percent) from food stamps, but Republican leaders caved in and agreed to just a token 1 percent trim in the final bill.

http://www.cato.org/blog/farm-bill-spending-49-percent

VoluntaryAmerican
01-29-2014, 05:32 PM
price controls on milk, pretty much... bunch of "pro" farmer stuff ... pretty modest cut on SNAP

Brian4Liberty
01-30-2014, 02:12 PM
What was in the Farm Bill:


The farm bill isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Congress is likely very aware of this fact and is pouncing on a chance to get its farm bill through. Tonight’s State of the Union address further provides cover for what Congress is about to do to the American public this week. The House is expected to vote tomorrow on this nearly $1 trillion farm bill, which is projected to cost even more than the Obama stimulus bill.

The House and Senate farm bill negotiators have come up with a bill that is filled with central planning policies, handouts to special interests, and wasteful spending. The winners are the special interests. The losers are everybody else, including taxpayers, the poor, consumers, and virtually any other group you can think of.

Put simply, the bill picks all the bad parts of the House and Senate farm bills and leaves out any of the good provisions (and there were few good things as it was). Here’s just a quick sampling:

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/28/wont-believe-whats-1-trillion-farm-bill-disaster/

Brian4Liberty
01-30-2014, 02:13 PM
How did your Representative vote?

http://www.heritageactionscorecard.com/votes/vote/h31-2014

Origanalist
01-30-2014, 02:56 PM
What was in the Farm Bill:


The farm bill isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Congress is likely very aware of this fact and is pouncing on a chance to get its farm bill through. Tonight’s State of the Union address further provides cover for what Congress is about to do to the American public this week. The House is expected to vote tomorrow on this nearly $1 trillion farm bill, which is projected to cost even more than the Obama stimulus bill.

The House and Senate farm bill negotiators have come up with a bill that is filled with central planning policies, handouts to special interests, and wasteful spending. The winners are the special interests. The losers are everybody else, including taxpayers, the poor, consumers, and virtually any other group you can think of.

Put simply, the bill picks all the bad parts of the House and Senate farm bills and leaves out any of the good provisions (and there were few good things as it was). Here’s just a quick sampling:

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/01/28/...bill-disaster/


http://shutupobama.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/20121118-155730.jpg

Natural Citizen
01-30-2014, 03:18 PM
Well. It looks like the bill largely provided billions of dollars to subsidize major commercial farms. Many of which are owned and operated by the same congressional law makers who often rally against "the nanny state". Go figure. :rolleyes:

And, of course, they finally cut around 8 billion in food stamps for poor people. I was reading something some place where lawmakers, while in the company of business groups, were discussing ideas for the nations policies and saying that those people should just stop reproducing and participate in Religious ceremonies that were more aligned with the social ideology of the representative.

Canada is nice and pissed off and threatening major tarrifs on the U.S. because of the meat labeling thing on imports. Heh. Fuggem.

Some other stuff...

Brian4Liberty
01-30-2014, 04:50 PM
Well. It looks like the bill largely provided billions of dollars to subsidize major commercial farms. Many of which are owned and operated by the same congressional law makers who often rally against "the nanny state". Go figure. :rolleyes:


Both FreedomWorks and Heritage are scoring this vote, so it will effect some "ratings".

Heritage ordered their list by Heritage rating. It looks like JACK KINGSTON may not get that 90% rating next time.



Voted Yes on Farm Bill:

GA 1 REP. JACK KINGSTON R 90%
TX 24 REP. KENNY MARCHANT R 86%
NC 11 REP. MARK MEADOWS R 86%
TX 19 REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER R 86%
TX 22 REP. PETE OLSON R 83%
IN 4 REP. TODD ROKITA R 83%
TX 3 REP. SAM JOHNSON R 82%
MO 7 REP. BILLY LONG R 82%
AL 5 REP. MO BROOKS R 81%
TX 17 REP. BILL FLORES R 81%
KY 4 REP. THOMAS MASSIE R 81%
UT 3 REP. JASON CHAFFETZ R 78%
NC 8 REP. RICHARD HUDSON R 78%
IL 14 REP. RANDY HULTGREN R 78%
ID 1 REP. RAUL LABRADOR R 78%
GA 7 REP. ROB WOODALL R 78%
UT 1 REP. ROB BISHOP R 77%
TX 8 REP. KEVIN BRADY R 77%
TX 2 REP. TED POE R 77%
MO 8 REP. JASON SMITH R 76%
MI 2 REP. BILL HUIZENGA R 75%
IA 4 REP. STEVE KING R 75%
SC 2 REP. JOE WILSON R 75%
TX 7 REP. JOHN CULBERSON R 74%
VA 6 REP. ROBERT GOODLATTE R 74%
TX 4 REP. RALPH HALL R 73%
IN 6 REP. LUKE MESSER R 73%
SC 7 REP. TOM RICE R 73%
FL 15 REP. DENNIS ROSS R 73%
TX 21 REP. LAMAR SMITH R 73%
TN 6 REP. DIANE BLACK R 72%
TX 13 REP. MAC THORNBERRY R 72%
GA 8 REP. AUSTIN SCOTT R 71%
IN 8 REP. LARRY BUCSHON R 70%
VA 5 REP. ROBERT HURT R 70%
OH 5 REP. ROBERT LATTA R 70%
WY 1 REP. CYNTHIA LUMMIS R 70%
TX 10 REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL R 70%
TX 32 REP. PETE SESSIONS R 70%
NE 2 REP. LEE TERRY R 70%
TX 11 REP. MIKE CONAWAY R 69%
VA 2 REP. SCOTT RIGELL R 69%
UT 2 REP. CHRIS STEWART R 69%
MO 2 REP. ANN WAGNER R 69%
MI 7 REP. TIM WALBERG R 69%
TX 6 REP. JOE BARTON R 68%
FL 12 REP. GUS BILIRAKIS R 68%
MO 4 REP. VICKY HARTZLER R 68%
NC 10 REP. PATRICK MCHENRY R 68%
MI 10 REP. CANDICE MILLER R 68%
FL 11 REP. RICHARD NUGENT R 68%
MS 4 REP. STEVEN PALAZZO R 68%
FL 3 REP. TED YOHO R 68%
KY 6 REP. ANDY BARR R 67%
LA 6 REP. BILL CASSIDY R 67%
CO 4 REP. CORY GARDNER R 67%
MO 6 REP. SAM GRAVES R 67%
CA 1 REP. DOUG LAMALFA R 67%
KY 2 REP. BRETT GUTHRIE R 66%
OH 16 REP. JIM RENACCI R 66%
TN 1 REP. PHIL ROE R 66%
TN 8 REP. STEPHEN FINCHER R 65%
WI 6 REP. TOM PETRI R 65%
WI 1 REP. PAUL RYAN R 65%
FL 2 REP. STEVE SOUTHERLAND R 64%
AL 1 REP. BRADLEY BYRNE R 63%
TX 27 REP. BLAKE FARENTHOLD R 63%
MO 3 REP. BLAINE LUETKEMEYER R 63%
MS 1 REP. ALAN NUNNELEE R 63%
WI 8 REP. REID RIBBLE R 63%
NE 3 REP. ADRIAN SMITH R 63%
OH 7 REP. BOB GIBBS R 62%
PA 10 REP. TOM MARINO R 62%
OK 2 REP. MARKWAYNE MULLIN R 62%
NM 2 REP. STEVE PEARCE R 62%
PA 9 REP. BILL SHUSTER R 62%
VA 7 REP. ERIC CANTOR R 61%
VA 9 REP. MORGAN GRIFFITH R 61%
NV 3 REP. JOE HECK R 61%
CA 49 REP. DARRELL ISSA R 61%
MN 3 REP. ERIK PAULSEN R 61%
MI 8 REP. MIKE ROGERS R 60%
VA 1 REP. ROBERT WITTMAN R 60%
WI 7 REP. SEAN DUFFY R 59%
FL 17 REP. TOM ROONEY R 59%
AL 4 REP. ROBERT ADERHOLT R 58%
IN 5 REP. SUSAN BROOKS R 58%
MT 1 REP. STEVE DAINES R 58%
VA 4 REP. J. FORBES R 58%
AR 2 REP. TIM GRIFFIN R 58%
WA 4 REP. DOC HASTINGS R 58%
OH 6 REP. BILL JOHNSON R 58%
FL 10 REP. DANIEL WEBSTER R 58%
AR 3 REP. STEVE WOMACK R 58%
MI 4 REP. DAVE CAMP R 57%
NC 2 REP. RENEE ELLMERS R 57%
AL 3 REP. MIKE ROGERS R 57%
IL 6 REP. PETER ROSKAM R 57%
OH 12 REP. PAT TIBERI R 57%
IN 2 REP. JACKIE WALORSKI R 57%
IN 9 REP. TODD YOUNG R 57%
TX 12 REP. KAY GRANGER R 56%
SD 1 REP. KRISTI NOEM R 56%
MI 6 REP. FRED UPTON R 56%
OR 2 REP. GREG WALDEN R 56%
AR 1 REP. RICK CRAWFORD R 55%
OH 15 REP. STEVE STIVERS R 55%
TX 31 REP. JOHN CARTER R 54%
AL 2 REP. MARTHA ROBY R 54%
PA 3 REP. MIKE KELLY R 53%
WV 1 REP. DAVID MCKINLEY R 53%
PA 18 REP. TIM MURPHY R 52%
NY 27 REP. CHRIS COLLINS R 51%
FL 16 REP. VERN BUCHANAN R 50%
NC 6 REP. HOWARD COBLE R 50%
IL 16 REP. ADAM KINZINGER R 49%
MN 2 REP. JOHN KLINE R 49%
PA 5 REP. GLENN THOMPSON R 49%
NY 22 REP. RICHARD HANNA R 48%
WA 5 REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS R 48%
IL 18 REP. AARON SCHOCK R 48%
ID 2 REP. MIKE SIMPSON R 48%
NJ 4 REP. CHRISTOPHER SMITH R 48%
AL 6 REP. SPENCER BACHUS R 47%
MI 1 REP. DAN BENISHEK R 47%
LA 3 REP. CHARLES BOUSTANY JR. R 47%
WV 2 REP. SHELLEY CAPITO R 47%
OK 3 REP. FRANK LUCAS R 47%
OH 14 REP. DAVE JOYCE R 46%
IA 3 REP. TOM LATHAM R 46%
CA 23 REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY R 46%
WA 8 REP. DAVE REICHERT R 46%
KY 5 REP. HAROLD ROGERS R 46%
OH 10 REP. MICHAEL TURNER R 46%
VA 10 REP. FRANK WOLF R 46%
WA 3 REP. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER R 45%
KY 1 REP. EDWARD WHITFIELD R 45%
NY 23 REP. TOM REED R 44%
PA 11 REP. LOU BARLETTA R 42%
CA 42 REP. KEN CALVERT R 42%
FL 4 REP. ANDER CRENSHAW R 42%
IL 13 REP. RODNEY DAVIS R 42%
CA 25 REP. BUCK MCKEON R 42%
PA 7 REP. PAT MEEHAN R 42%
OK 4 REP. TOM COLE R 41%
CA 22 REP. DEVIN NUNES R 39%
IL 15 REP. JOHN SHIMKUS R 39%
ND 1 REP. KEVIN CRAMER R 38%
CA 10 REP. JEFFREY DENHAM R 38%
PA 15 REP. CHARLIE DENT R 38%
PA 6 REP. JIM GERLACH R 38%
MS 3 REP. GREGG HARPER R 36%
NC 7 REP. MIKE MCINTYRE D 36%
CA 21 REP. DAVID VALADAO R 36%
NY 2 REP. PETER KING R 34%
NJ 3 REP. JON RUNYAN R 34%
AK 1 REP. DON YOUNG R 34%
PA 8 REP. MICHAEL FITZPATRICK R 32%
GA 12 REP. JOHN BARROW D 30%
FL 25 REP. MARIO DIAZ-BALART R 29%
NY 11 REP. MIKE GRIMM R 29%
GA 2 REP. SANFORD BISHOP JR. D 26%
FL 27 REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN R 26%
TX 28 REP. HENRY CUELLAR D 24%
OH 11 REP. MARCIA FUDGE D 24%
LA 5 REP. VANCE MCALLISTER R 24%
NY 19 REP. CHRIS GIBSON R 23%
MD 5 REP. STENY HOYER D 22%
LA 2 REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND D 22%
HI 1 REP. COLLEEN HANABUSA D 21%
WA 10 REP. DENNY HECK D 21%
IL 2 REP. ROBIN KELLY D 21%
MN 7 REP. COLLIN PETERSON D 21%
OH 3 REP. JOYCE BEATTY D 20%
DE 1 REP. JOHN CARNEY D 20%
CA 16 REP. JIM COSTA D 20%
MD 6 REP. JOHN DELANEY D 20%
TX 23 REP. PETE GALLEGO D 20%
WA 6 REP. DEREK KILMER D 20%
NH 2 REP. ANN KUSTER D 20%
NY 21 REP. BILL OWENS D 20%
TX 34 REP. FILEMON VELA D 20%
NY 18 REP. SEAN MALONEY D 19%
TX 15 REP. RUBEN HINOJOSA D 18%
PA 13 REP. ALLYSON SCHWARTZ D 18%
GA 13 REP. DAVID SCOTT D 18%
AL 7 REP. TERRI SEWELL D 18%
MS 2 REP. BENNIE THOMPSON D 18%
FL 5 REP. CORRINE BROWN D 17%
FL 14 REP. KATHY CASTOR D 17%
MI 12 REP. JOHN DINGELL D 17%
ME 2 REP. MICHAEL MICHAUD D 17%
VA 3 REP. ROBERT SCOTT D 17%
NY 20 REP. PAUL TONKO D 17%
NY 1 REP. TIMOTHY BISHOP D 16%
CA 53 REP. SUSAN DAVIS D 16%
FL 22 REP. LOIS FRANKEL D 16%
CA 2 REP. JARED HUFFMAN D 16%
IL 3 REP. DANIEL LIPINSKI D 16%
NM 3 REP. BEN LUJAN D 16%
NY 24 REP. DAN MAFFEI D 16%
CA 12 REP. NANCY PELOSI D 16%
IL 10 REP. BRAD SCHNEIDER D 16%
WV 3 REP. NICK RAHALL II D 15%
NH 1 REP. CAROL SHEA-PORTER D 15%
NV 4 REP. STEVEN HORSFORD D 14%
AZ 1 REP. ANN KIRKPATRICK D 14%
NJ 8 REP. ALBIO SIRES D 14%
FL 23 REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ D 14%
NC 1 REP. G. BUTTERFIELD D 13%
SC 6 REP. JAMES CLYBURN D 13%
OH 9 REP. MARCY KAPTUR D 13%
AZ 2 REP. RON BARBER D 12%
OR 1 REP. SUZANNE BONAMICI D 12%
IL 17 REP. CHERI BUSTOS D 12%
CA 24 REP. LOIS CAPPS D 12%
WA 1 REP. SUZAN DELBENE D 12%
IL 12 REP. BILL ENYART D 12%
IL 11 REP. BILL FOSTER D 12%
HI 2 REP. TULSI GABBARD D 12%
CA 3 REP. JOHN GARAMENDI D 12%
GA 4 REP. HANK JOHNSON D 12%
TX 30 REP. EDDIE JOHNSON D 12%
NM 1 REP. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM D 12%
MN 4 REP. BETTY MCCOLLUM D 12%
FL 18 REP. PATRICK MURPHY D 12%
CO 7 REP. ED PERLMUTTER D 12%
MI 14 REP. GARY PETERS D 12%
NC 4 REP. DAVID PRICE D 12%
MO 5 REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER II D 10%
FL 20 REP. ALCEE HASTINGS D 10%
WA 2 REP. RICK LARSEN D 10%
CA 35 REP. GLORIA NEGRETE MCLEOD D 10%
OR 5 REP. KURT SCHRADER D 10%
CA 30 REP. BRAD SHERMAN D 10%
AZ 9 REP. KYRSTEN SINEMA D 10%
CA 7 REP. AMI BERA D 8%
CA 26 REP. JULIA BROWNLEY D 8%
IN 7 REP. ANDRE CARSON D 8%
IL 8 REP. TAMMY DUCKWORTH D 8%
FL 26 REP. JOE GARCIA D 8%
MI 5 REP. DAN KILDEE D 8%
IA 2 REP. DAVE LOEBSACK D 8%
CA 6 REP. DORIS MATSUI D 8%
CA 9 REP. JERRY MCNERNEY D 8%
MN 8 REP. RICK NOLAN D 8%
CA 5 REP. MIKE THOMPSON D 7%
MN 1 REP. TIM WALZ D 7%
VT 1 REP. PETER WELCH D 7%
IA 1 REP. BRUCE BRALEY D 4%
CA 20 REP. SAM FARR D 4%

Brian4Liberty
01-31-2014, 12:39 PM
Article on "log rolling":


Democracy and Power 113: Vote Trading

“I’ll vote for your legislation, if you’ll vote for mine.”

It is never said in public, but the act occurs constantly within our government. Regularly, our leadership requests a specific legislation, and our politicians agree to the request if the leadership includes his project. Politicians trade votes for their respective benefit, which is seldom for the benefit of most Americans.

Political insiders call this “log rolling,” and the expense to the American public is enormous. This blatant taking of property incrementally reduces everyone’s wealth, security and freedom.

Our Federal government oligarchs - Republican and Democrats – have “log rolled” the Farm Bill. Farmers and ranchers exchanged politically poisoning subsidies for crop insurance and food stamps for millions of Americans. Indirectly, our grocery industry benefits tremendously as well. And... our big, deceptive, incompetent government bumbles along reducing every American's wealth, security and freedom.
...
Hoping not to awaken Americans to this “log rolling” deal, Speaker Boehner rushed the bill through the House, where he needed and received Democrat support. Then, Sen. Harry Reid will manipulate the bill through the Senate. Quickly, President Obama will sign the legislation into law.
...
More:
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/teda/“log-rolling”-the-farm-bill-more-incompetent-and-d

Lucille
02-02-2014, 10:46 AM
Missing the Point on Food Stamps
http://knappster.blogspot.com/2014/01/missing-point-on-food-stamps.html



No doubt conservatives will complain about the food-stamp spending, but whatever one thinks about our ever-growing safety net, there is simply no excuse for the farm portion of the bill, which is pure corporate welfare.

Well, no. It's all corporate welfare.

"Food stamps" aren't about feeding people. They're about making taking money from people and then giving some of it back with the requirement that it be spent on farm goods instead of on, say, televisions or tennis shoes.

Ditto for WIC, "school lunch" programs, etc.

No, I'm not saying that these programs don't feed poor people. I'm just pointing out that the feeding of poor people is a fig leaf, an incidental side effect. The purpose of these programs isn't to feed people, it's to transfer money from your bank account to Big Ag's bank accounts whether that's where you prefer to spend your money or not.

pcosmar
02-02-2014, 11:20 AM
Tell me about the Farm Bill that passed today

Pork

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51c30721ecad04cd5f00000e/the-pork-price-chart-the-peoples-bank-of-china-didnt-want-to-see.jpg

Does this surprise you?

oyarde
02-02-2014, 11:36 AM
The farm bill is abuse of the taxpayer . There is a good reason Article One , Section Eight is specific .

HOLLYWOOD
02-02-2014, 11:42 AM
I heard someone of the Farm Committee in the House, took out legislation that would reveal politicians that receive campaign contributions as well as any political figure that "profits" from this or any future FARM BILL. The current House Agriculture Committee Chairman is Republican Frank D. Lucas (R-OK)

BLOOMBERG: Farm Lobby Scores Again as Rural-Urban Allies Beat Tea Party

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-28/farm-lobby-scores-again-as-rural-urban-allies-beat-foes.html#disqus_thread

By Alan Bjerga and Julie Bykowicz Jan 28, 2014 1:46 PM PT
A coalition spanning grocer Kroger Co. (KR) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/KR:US) to Iowa (http://topics.bloomberg.com/iowa/) soybean growers is on the verge of victory with a deal on a five-year agriculture bill in a Congress that can’t seem to agree on much of anything.
The accord, which the Congressional Budget Office today said will cut $16.6 billion over 10 years, reflects the clout of rural and urban allies who hung together even when the House of Representatives split them apart, as well as lots of lobbying money. In all, groups pressing for the bill spent more than $100 million in the first nine months of last year.
The bipartisan agreement, unveiled last night by House and Senate leaders, cuts food stamps, the biggest U.S. Department of Agriculture program, less than Republicans demanded while modifying subsidy programs for crop growers and leaving mostly unscathed companies that provide insurance for farmers.
“The great thing the ag coalition did was include inner-city and suburban food-stamp recipients in addition to the more conservative farmers,” said Steve Bell, a former top Republican Senate budget aide and now senior director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington (http://topics.bloomberg.com/washington/). “The combination of strong Republican advocates and Democratic food stamps advocates is unbeatable.

Two Decades
Passage would wind down the agriculture community’s toughest fight in almost two decades as the influx of House lawmakers vowing to curb spending and end subsidy programs tried to rewrite the legislation. Lawmakers predicted the measure would easily pass the Senate after House approval, which could come as early as tomorrow and has the support of Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.
“Not only is this a good bill, it’s almost a miraculous farm bill,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, the Oklahoma Republican who led conferees in reconciling House and Senate versions of the measure, said today during a call with reporters. Lucas and his Senate counterpart, Michigan Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, predicted President Barack Obama (http://topics.bloomberg.com/barack-obama/) will sign the bill after passage.
At least 325 companies and organizations, including Monsanto Co. (MON) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/MON:US), PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/PEP:US), and Dean Foods Co. (DF) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DF:US), registered as lobbyists in 2013 to work on the Senate’s farm bill through the end of October -- the fifth-most of any legislation, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

$111 Million
Only bills on the federal budget (http://topics.bloomberg.com/federal-budget/), appropriations, immigration and defense generated more lobbying interest, according to the center, a Washington-based research group that tracks campaign donations.
Agribusiness, an industry of crop and livestock producers, food manufacturers and dairy farmers among others, spent $111.5 million on lobbying in the same period, more than the defense industry and labor unions, according to the center.
Companies and individuals in agriculture made about $93 million in campaign donations during the 2012 presidential campaign and have given $20 million so far in 2014 congressional races.
The agreement on farm-policy legislation is among the few bipartisan achievements of this Congress, which this month cleared a $1.1 trillion spending bill and overcame disputes on presidential nominees to confirm more than a dozen.
“The conferees and their leadership have produced a framework that will serve the best interests of soybean farmers,” said Ray Gaesser, president of the St. Louis-based American Soybean Association and a farmer from Corning, Iowa.

Vote Scorecard
It’s a missed opportunity for sanity in agricultural policy, said Andy Roth, vice president of government affairs for Club for Growth in Washington, which supported treating food stamps and farm policy in separate bills to cut costs for both.
That group, along with small-government advocate Heritage Action, today urged lawmakers to oppose the bill. Both groups said they will include the vote on scorecards used to rate members of Congress in their re-election campaigns.
“This 949-page bill is yet another bloated proposal that House and Senate leaders are rushing through Congress without giving members and the public enough time to read and understand the bill,” said Roth in a statement. “This bill continues, for blatant political reasons, the unholy marriage of agricultural subsidies and food stamps -- two completely separate issues.”
The House Rules Committee forwarded the plan last night to the House floor, with a vote on procedure today to set up approval as soon as tomorrow.

‘Step Backwards’
“This logrolling prevents the long-term reforms that both farm programs and food stamps deserve,” said Representative Marlin Stutzman, an Indiana Republican. “As a farmer and a conservative, I cannot vote to take a step backwards.”
The legislation would cut nutrition programs including food stamps by $8 billion over 10 years -- one-fifth of the $40 billion sought by Republicans and fought by Democrats and food retailers. Crop-growers facing loss of $50 billion in subsidies retained about two-thirds through other aid, and crop insurers that paid out $17 billion after the severe 2012 were largely unscathed.
“We have done nothing that changes eligibility or eliminates anyone from food assistance help,” Stabenow said yesterday. “We have gone after waste, fraud and abuse.”
The bill governs farm subsidies, which encourages planting of soybeans, cotton and other crops that lower materials costs for commodity processors including Bunge Ltd. The legislation subsidizes crop-insurers such as Ace Ltd. (ACE) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/ACE:US) and funds purchases at Kroger and other grocers with food stamps, its biggest cost.

Shift Spending
Kroger, the biggest U.S. grocery-store chain, is “pleased that there appears to be growing, bipartisan support for the farm bill,” Keith Dailey, spokesman for the Cincinnati-based company, in an e-mail.
Reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, will affect consumer decisions, he said. “Our expectation is that customers may shift to spending more of their cash on food and less cash on other things,” Dailey said.
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/WFC:US), which sells coverage to farmers through Rural Community Insurance, said farm-bill passage “should help take some uncertainty out of the marketplace,” Alan Elias, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based bank, said in an e-mail. The company is the second-biggest provider of farm policies after Ace, which had no comment.
Some lobbying groups expressed disappointment with compromises.

Crop Subsidies
A plan to raise a cap on crop-subsidy payments to as much as $250,000 per farm couple from $100,000, sought by southern cotton and rice growers whose farms are larger than their northern counterparts, showed “profound disrespect for the democratic process” by changing policies already agreed to in both chambers, according to the Washington-based National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Groups representing meatpackers such as Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/TSN:US) that sought to roll back meat-labeling standards challenged at the World Trade Organization said they’d oppose the bill, which left the rule intact.
“We will literally use all our resources to kill this bill,” Wyoming (http://topics.bloomberg.com/wyoming/) rancher Scott George, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said in a conference call today.
The National Association of Manufacturers, whose members include Alcoa Inc. (AA) (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/AA:US) and Eli Lilly and Co. (http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/LLY:US), also opposes the bill’s labeling provisions, citing their potential wide impact on trade. The organization will continue to work with the U.S. Trade Representative and lawmakers to find a way to solve the problems the labels pose should the farm law pass Congress, said spokeswoman Jamie Hennigan in an e-mail.

Democrats Unhappy
Many Democrats also were unhappy with cuts in food stamps, especially as some farmers may be in line for higher subsidies, a contrast that Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut (http://topics.bloomberg.com/connecticut/) this month said was “unconscionable.”
While food-stamp advocates didn’t get everything they wanted, their role in the coalition prevented cuts from being any deeper, Bell said.
During the bill’s journey to final action, the House refused to consider a Senate-passed plan in 2012 and then rejected the Senate’s measure last year.
At one point, the House passed separate initiatives governing farm aid and food stamps. Those proposals were reconnected in negotiations with senators that produced yesterday’s deal.

Brian4Liberty
02-02-2014, 02:11 PM
At one point, the House passed separate initiatives governing farm aid and food stamps. Those proposals were reconnected in negotiations with senators that produced yesterday’s deal.

Different subject, but this illustrates the fact that Boehner and friends seriously wanting to send immigration reform to committee with the Senate is insane.