Lawmakers reach deal on farm bill
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators announced a final agreement on a $300 billion farm bill Thursday, as the White House and key conservatives continued to signal opposition.
Married farmers with joint incomes of up to $1.5 million a year could still qualify for crop subsidies under the House-Senate compromise that would bolster the Department of Agriculture's food and farm programs. President Bush has vowed to veto it as too expensive and too generous to wealthy farmers.
Jim Nussle, director of the White House budget office, Thursday stopped short of saying that Bush would veto the bill but said it still spends too much, relies on budget gimmicks and "doesn't have hardly enough reform."
"For those reasons, it would still be something that the administration would oppose," Nussle said.
Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said that Bush has not told him directly he'll veto the bill, but White House staffers have made it clear to him that Bush's support is unlikely.
Chambliss and other farm negotiators said they are convinced that they have a good bill, touting increases in nutrition programs, including food stamps, that make up more than two-thirds of the legislation. They also praised increases for conservation programs designed to protect farmland and renewable-energy programs.
They also said cutbacks to farm subsidies would go farther than before. That includes lower caps on what a farmer can earn to qualify for subsidies -- the current limit for an individual is an average annual income of $2.5 million -- and the elimination of loopholes that allow farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses.
"Those people who say there is no reform here have not read this bill," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
But even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a supporter of the bill, said she wished that it had gone further in limiting payments to wealthy farmers.
"The bipartisan farm bill will ease the strain on rising food prices for American families, begin much-needed reforms to farm payments and make a substantial commitment to land conservation and to fruits and vegetables," she said.
The bill would also expand subsidies for certain crops, increase loan rates for sugar producers and extend dairy programs. The final agreement also includes some cuts to direct payments, which are distributed to some producers no matter how much they grow.
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., said House members were meeting Thursday to coordinate a veto-override strategy.
