Thune says House farm bill still flawed

By Journal staff | Saturday, February 16, 2008

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More than 40 agricultural organizations have signed a letter critical of the most recent U.S. House farm bill proposal, according to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.,

"I applaud these groups for speaking up on behalf of the family farmers and ranchers they represent," Thune said in a news release. "The latest House farm bill proposal is flawed and would not be good for South Dakota."

Ag groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, the American Soybean Association and the American Agriculture Movement have signed the letter criticizing the House proposal.

The House proposal was developed by House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., after negotiations with the Bush administration. President Bush has threatened to veto the earlier farm bill versions passed by both the House and Senate, saying they would cost too much money.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., has defended the new, scaled-down House proposal as a realistic starting point to get a farm bill that Bush will sign.

But Thune argues that the House proposal would hurt South Dakota agriculture for the following reasons:

* It takes away all mandatory funding for the permanent disaster program in the Senate-passed farm bill.

* It includes an ineffective crop-revenue program based on national yields, which likely would not benefit South Dakota.

* It eliminates direct payments in the ninth year, 2016.

* It negates Thune's amendment keeping the Loan Deficiency Payment safety net intact.

* It cuts the Conservation Reserve Program acreage cap without providing additional tools, such as making rental rates more competitive, to keep CRP a viable tool for farmers who wish to use it to exercise sound land stewardship.

"The Senate Farm Bill passed with an overwhelming bipartisan and veto-proof majority (79-14), and it should be the vehicle used as the basis for a conference report that could be signed by the president," Thune said.

Thune has criticized House leadership for not naming members to a House-Senate conference committee that will be required to resolve differences between the two bills before a final measure is submitted to the president. The Senate has named its conferees.

Herseth Sandlin said the new House proposal has gotten the Senate "off the dime" to negotiate a bill that the president will sign.