BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

President Bush vetoed The Farm Bill today.  And, in some respects he was probably right.  There are too many subsidies for the wealthy who really don’t need them.  But, this is an election year and there are little perks here and there for some farmers.  Overall, The Farm Bill is a good one.  We must remember that the bill also includes nutrition programs and food stamps.  In other words, The Farm Bill isn’t necessarily what most of us think it is.

Included are the costs of sending foodstuffs to poor foreign countries.  Also, the food stamp program falls under the parameters of The Farm Bill.  With today’s economy in shambles and many American workers unable to find employment, the need for food stamps is certainly to be on the rise.

So, what does The Farm Bill cover?

• Boost nutrition programs, including food stamps and emergency domestic food aid, by more than $10 billion over 10 years. It would expand a program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren.
• Increase subsidies for certain crops, including fruits and vegetables excluded from previous farm bills.
• Extend dairy programs.
• Increase loan rates for sugar producers.
• Urge the government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers for use in a mixture with corn.
• Cut a per-gallon ethanol tax credit for refiners from 51 cents to 45 cents. The credit supports the blending of fuel with the corn-based additive. More money would go to cellulosic ethanol, made from plant matter.
• Require that meats and other fresh foods carry labels with their country of origin.
• Stop allowing farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses.
• Reopen a major discrimination case against the Agriculture Department. Thousands of black farmers who missed a deadline would get a chance to file claims alleging they were denied loans or other subsidies.
• Pay farmers for weather-related farm losses from a new $3.8 billion disaster relief fund.

Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell’s subsidy for racehorse owners is included as is a subsidy for salmon fishermen in the Pacific Northwest. 

It goes without saying that both the Democrats and the Republicans put a little too much pork in the bill, but after all where better to put the pork than in The Farm Bill?

The veto should not hold, as there are enough votes on The Hill to override the President.  And, in this election year, everyone is trying to take something home to the voters.  Sad, but true.