Washington, D.C. - The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today declared victory when the Senate again failed to invoke cloture on S. 1731, the Agriculture, Conservation and Rural Enhancement Act of 2001.

"CCAGW applauds the senators who repeatedly voted against invoking cloture on this abomination of a farm bill," CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  "These pro-taxpayer senators deserve great credit for standing up to threats of political retaliation from the special interests.  Their votes will save taxpayers billions of dollars over the next ten years, plus result in a much saner, market-oriented agriculture policy."

"The farm bill, which does not expire until September of 2002, should never have been considered this year in the first place," Schatz added.  "But, the rush to consider it this year was all about the money  ¾ an attempt to lock in a 65 percent increase in agriculture subsidies before taxpayers became aware of what was going on and there was a general recognition that such funds were neither available nor justified."

"CCAGW hopes the Senate Democratic leadership will recognize that the right thing to do is to send the farm bill back to the Senate Agriculture Committee for thorough reworking," Schatz concluded.  "We can only hope next year they will pass a bill that doesn't gouge taxpayers or encourage overproduction, and that will direct assistance to farmers who need it most rather than to a small group of agriculture corporations and large-scale farms."

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest taxpayer advocacy group with over one million members and supporters nationwide.  It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.