Every five years, like pigs to the trough, the special
agricultural interests line up on Capitol Hill, making sure to get their tasty
little provisions written into the latest pork-laden farm bill. There was the
National Cotton Council, the National Milk Producers Federation, the American
Sugar Alliance, and countless others. Even United States catfish got some
protection from their imported Vietnamese counterparts.
While the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 (S.
954) was widely praised for ending the $5 billion-a-year direct payment
program that dropped money in farmers’ pockets whether they planted crops or
not, it sets up “adverse market payments (AMP)” and “agricultural risk coverage
(ARC)” that the Congressional Budget Office estimates will eat up two-thirds of
the $40 billion savings from direct payments. The bill passed with “bipartisan
support,” 66-27 on Monday evening….To Read More…..
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