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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bush criticizes Farm Bill, stands by ethanol; aides push for tighter income limits on crop subsidies

"With the agricultural economy strong and farmland enjoying record-high values . . . Congress is missing an opportunity to dramatically re-shape U.S. farm policy." That's how Peter Shinn of Brownfield Network described President Bush's view, at a press conference today, of the Farm Bill being finalized by House and Senate negotiators.

"However, the president stopped short of threatening to veto the new bill that congressional negotiators are struggling to finish," notes Philip Brasher of The Des Moines Register. "Top administration officials later went to the Capitol and met privately with the lawmakers for nearly two hours to discuss differences over the legislation," including "Bush's insistence that Congress tighten income eligibility limits for farm subsidies. . . . The administration proposed to cut off subsidies to farmers and landowners with incomes of more than $200,000 a year. The proposal has met strong resistance from Southern farm interests, and lawmakers have been pushing for higher limits that would apply only to off-farm income." (Read more)

Speaking with reporters in the White House rose garden, Bush said, ""Americans are concerned about rising food prices. Unfortunately, Congress is considering a massive, bloated farm bill that would do little to solve the problem."

Bush also defended the federal ethanol subsidy, which the proposed Farm Bill would cut to 45 cents a gallon from 51 cents. He corrected "a reporter who claimed 85 percent of the price increase in corn since 2002 was because of biofuels," Shinn writes. "The World Bank earlier this month said about 15 percent of the corn price increase could be linked to biofuels, not 85 percent. Mr. Bush pointed out sky-high oil prices are continuing to spur ethanol industry expansion and he said that’s the right approach to reducing America's dependence on foreign oil." (Read more)

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