As if complaining about the $5.2 billion in direct subsidy payments to millionaire farmers and $3.8 billion in disaster aid that will ultimately hurt taxpayers and the environment wasn’t enough, at the very last minute Congress added more than $2 billion in earmarks to the Farm Bill.
The complete list is here (Farm Bill Earmarks), but let [...]
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What a sorry excuse for leadership! On Thursday, May 8, 2008, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Chairmen of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees respectively, had spent more than an hour revealing their conference agreement on H.R. 2419, the 2008 Farm Bill. Understandably, since they had shepherded this monstrosity to conclusion, [...]
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Two press releases for today:
CAGW Commends Decision on Cap of High-Cost Fund for USF
Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today commended the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for its decision on reform of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and applauded the agency’s efforts to cap the out-of-control subsidies that consumers are financing. …
CCAGW Statement [...]
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Tom Schatz discusses the missed opportunities for reform in the Farm Bill with CNBC’s Becky Quick on Squawk Box.
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Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) will defend the status quo against much needed reform in the farm bill conference committee.
Lincoln tapped for Farm Bill conference committee
Senate leaders named Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., this week to the panel expected to write Congress’ final version of the Farm Bill.
Lincoln will join House and Senate negotiators on a [...]
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. . . is Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) for thwarting three amendments to the farm bill that would have provided some modest reform.
Read more here
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Watch Tom Schatz discuss the Omnibus and Farm Bill as well as announce December’s Porker of the Month on CNBC’s Pork Watch
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A lengthy, well-written but infuriating article by Gilbert M. Gaul in today’s Washington Post about massive fraud in USDA loan programs. Here are some of the highlights:
Since the 1970s, the loan program has endured nearly $1.5 billion in losses while backing almost $14 billion in guarantees to private banks, a Washington Post investigation found.
Actual losses are almost [...]
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The Washington Post addresses the monumental excesses and budgetary gimmickry contained in the Farm Bill. The lede is succinct and blunt:
“Thanks to the application of a little last-minute budgetary magic, the farm bill before the Senate this week authorizes about $10 billion in new subsidies, price guarantees and disaster aid in the next decade, even as farmers report [...]
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New Farm Bill Commentary by John Frydenlund released today
Washington Times editorial quotes Tom Schatz here:
Thomas Schatz, president of the government-waste organization, “applaud[ed]” the FRESH Act because it “would replace Depression-era farm-subsidy programs with programs that would provide a real safety net for farmers when they need it instead of doling out excessive payments to the [...]
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