Do You Pay Taxes to Subsidize Millionaire Farmers and Higher Food Prices?

Although Agriculture Department officials, taxpayer friends in the House and Senate, and outside reform groups like NTU provided many ideas at the start of 2007 to promote farm program reform, Congress largely ignored the recommendations and settled on a massive $300 billion spending plan that increases government involvement in the food sector.

Congress could have stopped agricultural payments to millionaire landowners and removed trade-distorting tariffs, but they didn't. Instead, the final Farm Bill legislation (H.R. 2419) leaves existing crop subsidies largely unchanged and hands out new funds to special interests not traditionally included in the bill.

This super-sized Farm Bill isn't the fiscally responsible policy reform that taxpayers deserve. Thankfully, President Bush has (at last!) begun to use his veto pen against wasteful spending, and he's announced he will use it to stop the Farm Bill.

We need to support the President's bold and courageous move by telling Members of Congress to join him. Please, contact your lawmakers today and ask them to uphold the President's Farm Bill veto.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Uphold Bush's Veto of the Farm Bill

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a taxpayer and a consumer, I urge you to uphold President Bush's veto of the wasteful Farm Bill legislation (H.R. 2419). With the national debt growing, Congress should be cutting spending. Yet this Farm Bill will cost Americans nearly $300 billion! My tax dollars have to pay for this, and I don't like it one bit.

Grocery bills for American families have been going up as food costs increase, yet this legislation would intentionally keep some food prices high through trade barriers and reckless price support schemes. This is simply ridiculous!

What's more, I don't think millionaires -- farmers or not -- should be receiving government handouts in any form. Yet this Farm Bill fails to take millionaires off the dole.

I'm asking you to support a Presidential veto of this bloated Farm Bill. Please, remember taxpayers like me when you go to vote on this harmful legislation.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 12, 2008


Background Information

Farmers, taxpayers, consumers, and small businesses could have benefited from a Farm Bill that responded properly to our changing world. For three decades, NTU has been working for fairer farm policies that unleash the talent and potential of our men and women in agriculture in fiscally responsible ways. As far back as December 2005, we submitted testimony on opportunities for improving the Farm Bill, and you can read those suggestions here.

That's why it was such a shame to see Congress leave taxpayer concerns off the ingredient list when they put their final Farm Bill package (H.R. 2419) together over the past weeks. Here are just a few examples of waste, abuse, and bad spending policy contained within the bill:

Millionaire landowners will continue to be eligible for farm subsidy payments;

  • Subsidies for wheat and soybeans will increase even though their market price has gone up 256 percent and 164 percent, respectively, since 2002;
  • Budgetary gimmicks in the bill hide a $10 billion boost in spending;
  • $1.3 billion will be authorized for a program to keep wetlands "wet";
  • The tariff on ethanol (which helps to keep prices high for motorists) will be extended for two years; and
  • The sugar industry is poised to receive additional protection from imports, along with promises from the government to buy excess sugar for questionable ethanol purposes.

    • President Bush has committed to vetoing any farm bill legislation that does not contain significant reforms, or that contains budget gimmicks or tax increases to boost program funding. This Farm Bill fails to meet his standards, so he has announced plans to veto the legislation.

    Unfortunately, Senators and Representatives from rural districts may cave in to agribusiness pressures that are supporting the Farm Bill. Help provide lawmakers with some backbone by letting them know that constituents like you want your representatives in Washington to uphold Bush's veto.