Like plowing soil, the agriculture bill pending before Congress, has gone under. That is correct, a farm bill has been defeated when it became a political partisan football in the dysfunctional group in Washington D.C. we call the United States House of Representatives.
For decades the farm bill was a genuine bipartisan bill passed by Congress, establishing a five year roadmap for the very essential and important agricultural sector of the American economy. No more.
The Republican House leadership again miscalculated the tone of their own membership as sixty-two Republicans voted against the passage of the proposed farm bill, which had passed the United States Senate. This group of conservative house Republicans voted against the bill. The bill failed 195 – 234 with 62 Republicans voting with 172 Democrats to oppose the bill.
The principal Republican dissatisfaction with the bill did not cut deeply enough into the ever burgeoning cost of food stamps. With one out of every seven Americans on food stamps, the cost has skyrocketed. Most Democrats were in opposition to the bill as it would have enacted a $20.5 billion cut in the food stamp program cut over 10 years. If passed, the White House supported a veto of any such bill. What a legislative mess concerning a bill which should have been bipartisan and in the best interest of American agriculture and trade. One amendment by Congressman Steve Southerland of Florida would have added work requirements to the food stamp program. Certainly not a bad idea, but with the jobless rate remaining too high, this could have been problematic. Most Democrats opposed this amendment. Not unlike work requirements for welfare recipients, the Southerland amendment was an eminently sound fiscal concept, but anathema to liberals in the Democratic ranks in the House. House Majority Leader Pelosi called the Republican efforts to pass a farm bill “juvenile, unprofessional and amateur”. Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, was quick to point fingers at the Republican leadership for the loss of the ag bill, which he opposed. Guess he forgot that there is ample agriculture activity in upper Montgomery County.
Maryland farmers, and especially Eastern Shore farmers, should be very concerned about the actions and votes of Maryland’s congressional delegation on the agriculture bill.
Now there is no farm bill. It is unfinished business leaving uncertainty and doubt. It is a sad day for agriculture when organizations such as the Club for Growth and other overtly political organizations with little direct input in American agriculture, become involved and embroiled in national legislation affecting the direction and future of our nation’s food and fiber. These types of actions only serve to demonstrate the rancor and extreme partisan milieu permeating our national government. As a candidate for congress, for whom I was a consultant said “we all know Washington is broken.” It was true then and remains true today.
A completed, bipartisan farm bill is still very much needed. Yet in Washington today, this is very much in doubt. With so many broken departments, programs and initiatives is it even possible that a farm bill cannot be passed to replace the two year extension, expiring at the end of September.
In this state of confusion and chaos, farmers have no certainty for the years ahead. It will not be easy for them to “hold em in the row.”
Stephan Sonn says
And who has brought on this era of non-governance Fletcher, by political design?
Bill Wanamaker says
Mr. Hall correctly describes a rancorous Congress whose direction is wayward. However, there is no reminder in his piece that we are $17 trillion in debt, and wild spending bills like this farm bill are precisely why we are in deep dollar trouble as a nation. Maybe Democrats are better at counting Republican votes than the fecless Republican Old Guard misleadership. But if Democrats really wanted to pass this farm bill, they would have removed its welfare component, the massively out of control food stamp program that is far larger than America’s population of folks who are truly not able to help themselves, even in this job market. Had the food stamp bill been placed in a stand-alone bill so that topic could have been addressed on its own merits, and not joined at the hip with the farmers, we would have a farm bill completed right now. Democrats wanted to force Republicans to vote for the farm bill with its unaffordable food stamp program, and the Republican “leadership” was so unaware of its own constituency that it let the vote go down without an effort beforehand to bifurcate the two separate issues to stand on their own merits. A pox on them all.
Stephan Sonn says
And sir , we have your word on all that.
You forgot about the lobster tails
that were bought by some welfare pigs.
Reason enough to starve kids I would say…. eh!
Did you enjoy your dinner last night?
Fletcher R Hall says
Mr. Wannamaker is no welfare pig. Where did you get the idea he eats lobster tails for dinner? A rather disconcerting comment. Not pertinent to the subject of the atricle.
Stephan Sonn says
You are slipping Fletcher.
Do you think Spy would print such a
lousy accusation by another contributor
toward a person for just speaking his mind.
The real welfare pig I referred to is reference to a welfare abuser who
according to the urban myth bought lobster tails with food stamps.
The reference to the Mr Wanamaker’s dinner was to
draw attention to how easily he dismissed as unaffordabe
a budget item whose purpose it is to feed surplus food to the hungry
while he was fortunate enough to enjoy nourishing regular meals
This says a lot about you. Either you have a Marxist class fetish
or suffer difficulty reading or maybe you are showing your true colors.
Fletcher R. Hall says
The American people elect the President and the Congress. The state legislatures draw the congressional district lines and create districts which are created as “safe” seats, therefore many members of Congress forget from wence they came. They often rather quickly become part of the inside the beltway Washington establishment. The military – industrial complex is noe the “technology – contractor complex” which helps finance and perpetuatre the re-election of those members of Congress who hold safe seats. Not what Thomas Jefferson and others had in mind as a system of governing the country.
Fletcher R. Hall
Chestertown
Stephan Sonn says
Fair comment until you shift out of neutral next time around.