Farm Bill

July 25, 2007

Hello everybody out there in farm country. Last week, I talked about Agriculture in the Headlines. Not always positive, I might add. This week, on just one single day, both the Washington Times and Washington Post had lead editorials attacking U.S. farm programs. The passage of the farm bill by the House Ag Committee triggered a flood of criticism. The Washington Post called it a "rotten bill." And when Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "It represents a critical first step toward reform," the editorial said, "That's the wrong answer." The Washington Post rarely criticizes Speaker Pelosi.

The Washington Times editorial is entitled "Wasteful Farm Policy." It rips the Department of Agriculture for paying farm subsidies to dead people. The Department has been paying money to estates for 2 years, maybe longer, after the owner died. Of course, this can not be condoned. They must put in place a system to prevent it from happening.

Still, that's not the point. The point is, American agriculture is in the cross hairs and will stay there for the foreseeable future.

Will we get a farm bill this year and what it will look like is still in doubt.

There is a lot to be done. The Senate has not even started. Chairman Peterson took the lead getting a bill through the House Ag Committee, but the road to passage is long and rough.

Keep in mind the Congress has not been able to get much of anything done at all this year. The immigration bill blew up. They have wasted time "showboating" an all-night debate on the War in Iraq. They knew they didn't have the votes to pass anything to start with.

Still, when it comes to the farm bill, I think they will get it done. The Democrats don't want to fail rural America. That would be bad politics. They don't want to risk losing their majority in the Congress. The many farm organizations are pretty solid behind a bill. Nancy Pelosi does not want to fail. Will the President veto the bill if it even gets to his desk? Some think he will. But I don't think so.

Any thoughts you have on my commentary, you can reach me at jblock@ofwlaw.com.

Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.