by Richard Morrison
May 14, 2008

Washington, D.C., May 14, 2008—The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Farm Bill, signaling a major loss for consumers and taxpayers.

“If the Senate goes the way of the House, taxpayers and consumers will be paying the bills for a Farm Bill that increases farm subsidy programs, provides payments to millionaire farmers, and increases spending by about $20 billion, without any significant reform,” said Fran Smith, Adjunct Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Smith was referring to today’s vote of 318 to 106 by the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of the conference report on H.R. 2419, the new Farm Bill.

Smith said that CEI commends those House Members who led a charge against the bloated farm programs. Those legislators who .led the push for reform of the wasteful and fiscally irresponsible farm programs included Reps. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Ron Kind (D-WI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Paul Ryan (R-WI).

“With 318 House Members voting for the legislation, it’s likely that President Bush’s threatened veto would be overturned, since a two-thirds majority of the House and the Senate is needed to override a veto,” noted Smith. The Senate will be considering the legislation shortly, although expectations are that the bill will pass readily.

“The House vote is a win for special interests, and a blow for taxpayers,” Smith said. “The $288 billion legislation deserves to be defeated.”

For a short video explanation of the problems with U.S. farm policy, watch Farming for Dollars: How Farm Subsidies Harm Consumers, Taxpayers and the Poor.

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. For more information about CEI, please visit our website at www.cei.org.