Corn Commentary

Senate Passes Farm Bill

Senators just finished patting each other on the back for their “tremendous” work in getting both an energy bill and a farm bill passed within 24 hours.

The Senate version of the 2007 Farm Bill made amazing progress overnight after Senators decided it was taking too long to go through even the pared-down list of amendments they had agreed to and they voted to end debate on the bill. Today, 79 senators voted in favor of the bill’s passage, the biggest majority to pass a farm bill since 1973. The number would have been even bigger if the presidential candidates had been there for the vote. Senators Clinton, Obama, Dodd and Biden all said they would have voted for the bill if they had been there.

The bill must now still be reconciled with the House bill before it heads to the president’s desk, with the threat of a veto still likely.