Everybody But the President Likes the Farm Bill
Posted: May 16, 2008
Just a few weeks ago it appeared that there was no way Congress would be able to get a Farm Bill passed this year.
But, oh ye of little faith, it did indeed happen this week with a wider margin of votes than any farm bill has ever received. On the House side, 318 members voted in favor of the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2008 passed the House and 81 senators approved it on Thursday.
That makes it virtually veto-proof, and a good thing too, since President Bush intends to make good on his promise to veto the bill which he says “increases farm subsidy rates, spends too much and fails to reform farm programs for the future.”
The president and members of his administration seem to be standing alone there. Literally every single farm and commodity group in the entire countryside has voiced support for the bill, from specialty crops to livestock to cotton to field crops. It’s the most popular farm bill I’ve ever seen. The bill is also being praised by environmental and consumer groups, religious groups and anti-hunger organizations.
Many are urging the president to reconsider, even though Congress has the votes to override. President Bush has only vetoed nine bills so far, and he was overridden on only one - the Water Resources Development Act - or WRDA. The score will likely be 10 and 2 next week.