An Ugly "Farm Bill"

by Chris Chocola: This week, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate joined together to pass a 1,102-page “Farm Bill” costing $963 billion. A few days later, House Speaker John Boehner publicly announced his support for the more “conservative” House version…costing the taxpayers “only” $950 billion. Worse yet, both chambers claim they are saving taxpayers billions of dollars despite the unavoidable fact that the cost of the “Farm bill” has increased 60% in just the last five years.

So, why did the Senate version pass by a 66-27 margin, with 18 Republicans in favor? (See the Roll Call Vote) And, why am I using “quotes” to describe the “Farm Bill”?

Because agricultural subsidies account for only about 20 percent of the farm bill. The remaining 80% can be roughly attributed to the massive food stamp program. These two completely separate issues are united in an unholy marriage so that rural legislators from Agriculture states will vote for their subsidies and urban legislators representing districts hooked on the Obama-entitlement state receive their food stamps. And taxpayers are left holding the bag.

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)

As liberal Republican Senator and Ranking Senate Agriculture Committee member Thad Cochran recently said “[Food stamps] should continue to be included purely from a political perspective. It helps get the farm bill passed.” Well, at least he’s honest.

At a minimum, these two programs should be voted on as separate, stand-alone bills. True reform would also include implementing a plan to devolve the food stamp program to the states and eventually eliminate federal agricultural subsidies. With our national debt quickly approaching $17 trillion, we need to stop spending billions on wasteful and anti-growth federal programs if we want to grow the economy and get our fiscal house in order. Some fiscal conservatives in the House are fighting passage of the Farm Bill, and we’ll let you know if their efforts are successful. You can rest assured that the Club for Growth will be behind them 100%.

Rep Matt Salmon (R-AZ)

Speaking of fiscal conservatives in the House, we want to let you know about a group led by pro-growth champion Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) that is seeking to codify the so-called “Hastert Rule” in the Republican Conference. As you may recall, Rep. Salmon was elected to Congress in 2012 with the help of Club members and we couldn't be more pleased with the leadership role he has taken on pro-growth issues.

The Hastert Rule basically says that the Republicans will not bring bills to the House floor that do not have the support of a majority of House Republicans. Believe it or not, Speaker Boehner has routinely violated this rule, allowing Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats to work with a small minority of liberal Republicans who will vote like they do to pass legislation such as the “fiscal cliff” tax increase (151 Republicans against, 85 Republicans in favor) or Hurricane Sandy disaster relief that contained billions in pork and wasn’t offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the budget (179 Republicans against, 49 Republicans in favor).

Codifying the Hastert Rule, will give fiscal conservatives in the House a powerful tool to hold their leadership accountable and to stop bad policy from passing the House. After all, what’s the point of having a Republican Majority if Republican leaders are going to give Nancy Pelosi everything she wants? Along with 46 other conservative groups and activists, the Club for Growth is strongly supporting the efforts of fiscal conservatives to get this done, and we’ll let you know the progress in the weeks and months ahead. If you want your Republican congressman to support this effort, please let them know. The Capitol Hill switchboard telephone number is (202) 224-3121.
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Chris Chocola is President, Club for Growth.

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Tags: Chris Chocola, Club for Growth, Farm Bill, farmers, Food Stamps, Hastert Rule To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!