I have come across some stories regarding the 2007 Farm Bill that is due to be sent to President Bush this week. Notice this is a bill from 2007 that has just been passed by the U.S. House and Senate, although the versions are different and are being worked out in a conference committee this week.

The first story I came across is from Reuters (Bush will veto U.S. farm bill: USDA chief) and it only says:

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said on Thursday …"They have failed to present the administration with a good farm bill," Schafer told reporters. "The president will veto this bill." and goes on House and Senate negotiators agreed on a $285 billion farm bill on Wednesday that puts more money into public feeding programs and denies one crop subsidy program to the wealthiest Americans.

Many of the other news stories only highlight the fact that the President will veto the bill and how much of the debate focuses on overriding the veto. 

I had to do some serious research to find out what the farm bill is.

The videos below are from July 2007 when the bill was first being debated in congress.

This video is from October 2007 when Congress thought they would pass the bill.

In my research I found an old story (October 24, 2007) from NPR that was updated with a radio segment on April 30, 2007 (Battling Out the Farm Bill). The story and audio are supportive of the bill and the subsidies included in it. This story did provide some direction for my research by showing pro and con discussion on the major points included in the bill. It shows:

Crop Subsidies

In a Nutshell: The farm bill includes many programs that hand out payments to farmers. …

Supporters Say: Subsidies are necessary to ensure that American farmers can survive …

Critics Contend: Subsidies are an example of unnecessary pork-barrel spending …

Qualifying for Payments

In a Nutshell: Anyone who owns land can qualify for subsidies, whether they are farming the land themselves or renting it to others…

Supporters Say: The House bill represents a fair compromise…

Critics Contend: The House-passed farm bill is a continuing subsidy to big agricultural operations …

Conservation Programs

In a Nutshell: These programs encourage and assist farmers and ranchers to protect vulnerable land…

Supporters Say: Environmentalists argue that conservation payments are the best kind of farm subsidy…

Critics Contend: Some of these programs aren't well targeted, and don't deliver as many benefits as hoped…

There is much more involved with this bill. The next story I came across is from the Associated Press dated May 2, 2008 (Congress still struggling to finish farm bill By MARY CLARE JALONICK). This story states:

Negotiators reached a tentative agreement last week on how to pay for the bill, which would cost almost $300 billion… The bill's negotiators have tried to appease Bush in the last few days, agreeing on stricter limits for those government payments. That agreement would still allow growers who earn up to $950,000 annually in farm income to receive payments, far from the $200,000 annual income cap the Bush administration originally suggested…

Mary Clare Jalonick submitted another AP story on May 9^th titled Lawmakers finish farm bill as White House repeats opposition, that states:

Married couples with joint incomes of up to $1.5 million from their farm operation could still qualify for crop subsidies under… farm couples with incomes totaling $2.5 million… could also qualify.

The legislation would:

_ Increase the nutrition programs, including food stamps and emergency domestic food assistance, by more than $10 billion. It would also expand a program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren;

_ Expand subsidies for certain crops, extend dairy programs and increase loan rates for sugar producers. It includes language which calls on the federal government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers, where it would be used in a mixture with corn;

_ Make small cuts to direct payments, which are distributed to some producers no matter how much they grow;

_ Cut a per-gallon ethanol tax credit that supports blending fuel with the corn-based additive from 51 cents to 45 cents in favor of more money for cellulosic ethanol, which is made from plant matter;

_ Add dollars for conservation programs designed to protect farmland;

_ Eliminate loopholes that now allow farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses;

_ Cut expanded food assistance for an international school lunch program that was passed in the House farm bill last year. While the House had included more than $800 million in permanent dollars for the McGovern-Dole program, the final bill includes less than $100 million;

_ Pay farmers for weather-related farm losses out of a $3.8 billion disaster assistance fund. Schafer on Thursday criticized the program, which he says questions the government's investments in existing crop insurance for farmers and discredits farm programs;

_ Give tax breaks to owners of race horses, a provision added by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Animal rights groups criticized the provision, saying Congress shouldn't help the industry in the wake of a Kentucky Derby entrant collapsing and having to be euthanized last weekend.

There is another story from Reuters that you can research at Bush administration outlines farm bill priorities

One of the things that is difficult to find in this bill is the fact that subsidies for corn-based ethanol will decrease from 51¢ per gallon to 45¢ per gallon but subsidies for cellulosic ethanol are included for the first time at $1.00 per gallon to support the 2007 Energy Bill that is still being debated.

I feel that it is clear from the research I’ve done that this bill is overburdened with pork and should be open to more debate with a focus on true savings for the taxpayers.