McCain, in Iowa, says he would veto new Farm Bill

Arizona Sen. John McCain, a longtime foe of farm subsidies, isn't changing his tune now that he is the presumptive Republican nominee for president. Last week in Iowa, a state that benefits greatly from subsides in the federal Farm Bill, he said he would veto the new bill awaiting passage in Congress.

“I do not support it,” McCain said. “I would veto it. I would do that because I believe that these subsidies, the subsidies are unnecessary.” In an interview with The Des Moines Register, he added, “At this time, to have an increase in agricultural subsidies when farmers are having higher incomes than at any time in memory, I just think it’s legislation that’s not in keeping with the economic hard times of America where people are losing their homes and their jobs.”

Reporter Thomas Beaumont wrote that McCain said "He was willing to risk the political backlash in heavily agricultural states such as Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which also have been among the most competitive electoral battlegrounds in the previous two presidential campaigns. But he said he hoped voters in farm states would appreciate his plan to expand markets for U.S. agricultural products abroad." (Read more) Hat tip to Barbara Leach of My Rural America for alerting us to Beaumont's story.