With the Farm Bill veto threat essentially neutered by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson can claim victory. The obstructionist wing of the Republican Party led by Jeff Flake did everything they could to derail the bill but was given a significant smack down from both Peterson and a majority of their Republican colleagues.
From ABC News:
The bill also would:
- Boost nutrition programs, including food stamps and emergency domestic food aid, by more than $10 billion over 10 years. It would expand a program to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren.
- Increase subsidies for certain crops, including fruits and vegetables excluded from previous farm bills.
- Extend and expand dairy programs.
- Increase loan rates for sugar producers.
- Urge the government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers for use in a mixture with corn.
- Cut a per-gallon ethanol tax credit for refiners from 51 cents to 45 cents. The credit supports the blending of fuel with the corn-based additive. More money would go to cellulosic ethanol, made from plant matter.
- Require that meats and other fresh foods carry labels with their country of origin.
- Stop allowing farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses.
- Reopen a major discrimination case against the Agriculture Department. Thousands of black farmers who missed a deadline would get a chance to file claims alleging they were denied loans or other subsidies.
- Pay farmers for weather-related farm losses from a new $3.8 billion disaster relief fund.
- Provide the first-ever infusion of federal farm dollars - more than $400 million - to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
On the floor of the House of Representatives, Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson criticized Jeff Flake (you know, the guy who says he knows agriculture because one time he got the tip of his finger chopped off) for demagoguing earmarks and paygo.
Peterson Beats Down Flake
Peterson Dismisses Obstructionist Paygo Argument
Throughout the rest of the process of debating the Farm Bill, Peterson offers a few other moments of explaining both the process and point of this legislation (Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5). Given that Collin Peterson is my former Congressman and I long for the days that I was represented by a beacon of sanity, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for this guy. Also, having relatives in the business of farming who have nothing but good things to say about the man I can only assume that he is serving his constituency well. His Blue Dog status makes him more conservative than I but he fits his district well.
2 responses to "MNMuseTube Update: The Farm Bill OR Take Your Veto Threat & Shove It Mr. President"
I noticed your link to freerice and I thought I would let you know of another great charity site which is AIDtoCHILDREN.com. It donates money to children in need through World Vision.
Check it out at http://www.aidtochildren.com
Thanks Bluesky, I'll check that out!