Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) expressed disappointment with today’s House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management markup of H.R. 2419, the 2007 Farm Bill.  The subcommittee ignored calls for reform and simply rubber-stamped the discredited farm policies of the past.  CCAGW encouraged subcommittee members to consider legislation such as H.R. 2720, “The Food and Agriculture Risk Management for the 21^st Century Act” (FARM-21) instead of extending or expanding current programs.

Between 2002 and 2006, the farm subsidy system cost taxpayers an average of $20 billion annually.  In 2004, farm subsidy programs raised the cost of food to consumers by $16.2 billion.  However, farm subsidies don’t even help the small farmers that they are supposedly designed to help.  Instead, most subsidies go to the wealthiest farmers.  In 2003, the top 10 percent of farm subsidy recipients collected 72 percent of total subsidies and the top 5 percent collected 55 percent of payments.

Rather than keep smaller farmers on the land, farm subsidy programs contribute to farm consolidation and higher land prices, resulting in fewer jobs in rural areas and loss of population.  Farm subsidy programs have also proven to be an obstacle to expanding international trade and undercut farmers in developing nations.

“The subcommittee should have considered alternatives to the failed farm policies of the past 70 years,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.  “FARM-21 would put U.S. farm policy on the right track by transitioning away from the current antiquated system of farm subsidies to a fair and equitable safety net through risk management accounts.  It would also save taxpayers money, unlike the current costly system.”

FARM-21 would direct some of the savings from farm subsidy programs to other programs, such as nutrition, conservation, and rural development.  In addition, the legislation would provide taxpayers real, and well-deserved, financial relief, amounting to $4.4 billion over five years and more than $20 billion over ten years.

“When the full committee takes up H.R. 2419, members should support amendments to incorporate provisions of H.R. 2720.  Without such changes, taxpayers and consumers will be milked dry by the 2007 Farm Bill,” Schatz concluded.

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.