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Ranchers.net

Conner promises veto of Senate farm bill
by Peter Shinn


Just minutes into the U.S. Senate’s debate on the next farm bill, acting U.S. Ag Secretary Chuck Conner held a press conference to blast the measure that emerged from the Senate Ag Committee on October 25th. And Conner made clear he can’t advise President Bush to sign the Senate farm bill in its current form.

"The President's senior advisors will recommend a veto of the combined Senate Finance Committee and Senate Ag Committee and farm bill," Conner intoned.

The timing of Conner's announcement made for an odd juxtaposition of public farm bill events. At almost the exact same moment that Ag Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa was describing the Senate farm bill as a "kind of a grand compromise... so that the entire country benefits from this," Conner was characterizing the Senate Farm bill as a measure that "continues a defective safety net, contains little real reform and uses tax increases and budget gimmicks that deserve to be funded in an honest fashion."

Farm bills almost always enjoy bi-partisan support, and Ranking Senate Agriculture Committee Republican Saxby Chambliss described the bill Tuesday as "a good legislative proposal." Harkin himself said he'd "never seen a partisan fight on a farm bill."

But the veto threat may change that. GOP Lawmakers may have to choose between loyalty to the party and support of the current farm bill, which many mainline ag and commodity groups see as generally favorable. Still, Conner told Brownfield his goal isn't to scuttle the farm bill process, but to force Congress into essentially re-crafting the measure.

"I believe we do still have the opportunity, both in the Senate floor and in conference, to change this bill to reflect good farm policy," Conner asserted. "The changes, I will tell you, do need to be significant changes, because these are major problems."

Specifically, Conner said the Senate farm bill had to address the issue of beneficial interest in commodity program payments, further tighten farm program payment limits and must not raise target prices or loan rates. And Conner reiterated several times his desire to work closely with Congress to produce a bill that President Bush could sign.

Harkin, in a statement issued after Conner's remarks, said he was "concerned" about Conner's remarks. Harkin added he hoped "the White House will work cooperatively with the House and the Senate to craft a farm bill the President will sign."
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