Bush Expected To Spurn Farm Bill
Published May 7, 2008
Washington, D.C. - Lawmakers headed toward a showdown with President Bush over their new farm bill after agreeing on final details of the legislation that maintains the existing system of crop subsidies.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said it appeared unlikely the bill would be acceptable to Bush.
During a private meeting with Republican House members, Bush did not explicitly threaten to veto the legislation, but "he made it clear he was still not" supporting it, said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.
Goodlatte and other lawmakers said the bill should have strong support in both the House and Senate, but it would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a veto. The House is viewed as less likely to override a veto. The 231-191 vote on the House version of the bill last summer fell well short of the two-thirds majority.
"The president might not only prevail on a veto ... but he might prevail in the court of public opinion," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization that shares some of Bush's objections to the bill.
Bush said the bill that negotiators were crafting was too costly and didn't go far enough to tighten income eligibility limits for wealthy recipients of farm subsidies. The administration also wanted the bill to liberalize rules for international food aid so that some commodities could be procured closer to where they are needed rather than being shipped from the United States.
The House and Senate are expected to vote on the final version of the bill next week.
Congressional negotiators said Wednesday that they had finished the last details of the bill and had made some changes that moved toward Bush's position on subsidy rules. However, the lawmakers refused to discuss the details in advance of a news conference planned for today.
"I'm still hopeful the president will sign this bill," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said that "there will certainly be a strong attempt" in Congress to override a veto.
Among the last issues lawmakers had to deal with was tightening their proposed new income caps for wealthy subsidy recipients. Under a proposal last week, an individual could have as much as $950,000 in annual farm income and not lose any subsidies. That limit was being lowered to $750,000.
The new bill will continue existing subsidy programs for grain and cotton farmers while creating an optional new plan sought by corn growers to protect them against poor yields as well as a drop in market prices. The new program would trigger subsidies when farm revenue falls below statewide targets.
