CCAGW Statement on Farm Bill | Council For Citizens Against Government Waste

CCAGW Statement on Farm Bill

Press Release

For Immediate Release
May 2, 2008

Contacts: Leslie K. Paige (202) 467-5334
Alexa Moutevelis (202) 467-5318

 

Washington, D.C.The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released the following statement from President Tom Schatz regarding the Farm Bill:

“On behalf of the more than 1.2 million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge the House and Senate to reject the conference report on H.R. 2419, the Farm Bill, and encourage the President to stick by his veto threat.

“There is no significant reform in H.R. 2419.  For example, rather than accept a modest proposal from the Bush Administration to eliminate subsidy payments to those farmers with an adjusted gross income in excess of $200,000 and provide a payment limit of $250,000 per year, the administration indicated it was willing to accept $500,000 as the income cutoff.  However, H.R. 2419 will only begin to eliminate subsidies when income reaches $950,000.  At that level, there is a 10 percent reduction in subsidies for every $100,000 in additional income, so farmers can make $1.95 million before the subsidies would be totally eliminated.

“Under current law, $5.2 billion annually in direct payments go to individuals (many of whom are no longer farming) without any regard to prices or income.  These payments are a continuation of transition payments originally created in the 1996 farm bill, which were intended to be phased out by 2002.  Sixty percent of these payments go to the wealthiest 10 percent of recipients.  Conferees claim that they are providing reform by reducing these payments by a total of $400 million  less than 1 percent of the $26 billion in direct payments that are scheduled to go out over the next five years.  To add insult to injury, H.R. 2419 creates a new $3.8 billion disaster program that will be primarily directed to the same producers that are now receiving the bulk of the direct payments.

“CCAGW urges Senators and Representatives to reject H.R. 2419 and encourages the President to veto the farm bill.  He would be completely justified.  In fact, to do anything else would indicate that he was never serious about reform at all.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.