Thursday, November 8, 2007
Moving the Farm Bill Forward
As you may know, recently, I have spent much of my time on the Senate floor, managing debate on the new farm bill.
We have come a long way to get to this point. The Senate Agriculture Committee overcame strict budget limitations to craft a bill that is good for America and is fiscally responsible. This is a strong, bipartisan measure that maintains farm income protection and makes critical investments in nutrition, conservation, renewable energy and rural development.
But, now, all of this is in jeopardy. Before even a single amendment was put to a vote, the Administration preemptively issued a veto threat. It took issue with virtually every key element of the bill. It even objected to the expansion of the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program for school children!
This is so over-the-top, my first reaction was disbelief. I asked myself, Are they really serious? Well, apparently so.
This is becoming a pattern in Washington: Congressional Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences to get important work done for the American people – on children's health insurance, on the water resources bill, on education-and-health appropriations, and now on the farm bill. But President Bush, wielding his veto, steps in as a one-man wrecking crew.
Well, there is too much at stake in this farm bill to allow a veto threat to deter us. And the stakes for Iowa are especially high.
Iowans are eager to lead the way in the production of biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks. This bill will assist farmers who want to transition into biomass crops such as switch grass, and it will provide grants and loan guarantees to Iowa entrepreneurs who want to build cellulosic biorefineries. Right now, we have a biofuels boom in the major corn-growing parts of our state. By giving a shot in the arm to the cellulosic biofuels industry, the farm bill will extend that prosperity to parts of the state south of I-80.
At the same time, thousands of Iowa farmers are eager to step up their conservation efforts, especially on working lands. The new farm bill expands the Conservation Stewardship Program, enrolling more than 417,000 additional acres in Iowa every year for the next five years. Iowa would receive nearly $170 million in new conservation funding over the five years of the bill.
Like the rest of the country, Iowans appreciate the urgent need to improve the nutrition and health of our children. The new farm bill would enable up to 65,000 Iowa school children to participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, more than five times the current number.
The bill also reforms the nation's largest food assistance program. As we approach Thanksgiving, it bears keeping in mind that this bill will significantly increase food assistance to tens of thousands of needy families across Iowa.
More generally, farmers and farm suppliers are trying to plan for next year's planting season. They need to know what farm programs are going to be in place under the new bill, and they need to know this by Christmas.
But now, with the Administration's ill-advised veto threat, all of these important things for Iowa have been thrown into jeopardy.
Well, I will not be deterred. Nor will the Senate. This is a good bill that is fully paid for and fiscally responsible, with strong bipartisan support.
I take some hope from the fact that the veto threat was not issued by the President himself. I urge him to personally look into this, and to call of the veto talk.
This new farm bill is good for America, and absolutely essential for Iowa. It is a bill that the President can and should sign.
