Farm Bill Reaction

National Cotton Council Chairman Larry McClendon commended the U.S. Congress for the decisive passage of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, and urged President Bush to reconsider a veto of this important legislation.

NCC Chairman Larry McClendon

“The House and Senate have overwhelmingly approved this Farm Bill, and farmers need this bill in place now,” McClendon said. “Enacting this new farm legislation will provide a predictable safety net for farmers and their lenders. Given the prevailing budget and political considerations, this is the best option available for production agriculture.”

The Arkansas producer and ginner reiterated earlier comments following the House’s May 14 approval of the bill saying that “although commodity prices are good, markets are extremely volatile and there’s never a guarantee the weather will cooperate. Farmers always will face an inordinate amount of risk, but this legislation helps mitigate that unpredictability.”

McClendon said the U.S. cotton industry “is very grateful to the Cotton Belt Senators and their extra effort on this farm bill development and approval process. In particular, I’d like to recognize the diligent efforts of Senator Chambliss, who served first as Senate agriculture committee chairman and then its ranking member during the lengthy process. We also appreciate the dedicated work by Senators Lincoln and Cochran who were members of the conference committee that hammered out the final agreement. Their bi-partisan effort enabled the industry’s priorities to be maintained in this new farm bill. That includes an effective safety-net; enhanced market orientation and competitiveness; assistance for domestic manufacturers; and minimization of counter-productive limitations on program eligibility.”

ARA Applauds Farm Bill Passage

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) applauds the House and Senate for passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. This bipartisan legislation will continue to provide a safety net for America's farmers, promote bio-energy and conservation programs, and nutrition programs designed to assist the nation's less fortunate. The House passed the bill by a vote of 318-106 while the Senate approved it 81-15 – a veto-proof majority in both chambers.

"ARA is pleased that the bill includes many key policy priorities, including the ARA-initiated Agricultural Chemicals Security Credit that will provide a tax credit to agricultural retailers, distributors and other eligible agricultural businesses that improve security at their fertilizer and pesticide storage facilities," said Jack Eberspacher, ARA president & CEO. "We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) whose tireless efforts led to the inclusion of the security tax credit provision in this legislation.”

Veto-Proof Margins Send Clear Message to White House

(From left) The Plains Cotton Growers’ Roger Haldenby, Steve Verett and Shawn Wade.

The topsy-turvy nature of the 2008 Farm Bill debate means nobody is taking anything for granted when it comes to making sure this bill becomes law.

Even though Congress essentially rendered the threat of a Presidential veto moot by overwhelmingly approving the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 by veto-proof margins, officials at Plains Cotton Growers say it is now time to finish the job with a veto override.

"Despite being on the cusp of completing and passing a new 2008 Farm Bill, there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that the intent of Congress is carried forward into the rules and regulations that will implement this new bill," notes Steve Verett, PCG Executive Vice President. "The devil is always in the details and we will be working hard to ensure the regulations developed by USDA carry out the vision set forth by Congress and does not cause unintended problems for agricultural producers."

Congress has already begun laying the groundwork to override the President's veto and expects to do so before adjourning for the Memorial Day recess on May 23.

Immediately following the 318-106 vote to pass the bill on Wednesday afternoon, House leaders approved what should be the sixth and final extension of the current law through May 23, giving plenty of time to override the President's veto.

Senate leaders followed essentially the same course, except they passed the funding extension on Wednesday night, before the final vote on the bill Thursday morning.

With no indication that President Bush will back away from his threat, despite veto-proof support in Congress, the next and final step in the process will be to override his veto. Congressional leaders expect the bill to arrive on the President's desk no later than Tuesday, May 20 and to override his veto before they leave on the 23rd.

ACSA Supports Current Farm Bill

Bill May

As it currently stands, the American Cotton Shippers Association would be satisfied with the Farm Bill passed by the House and Senate.

As of Friday, ACSA Senior Vice President Bill May said the U.S. merchant organization didn’t take any major issue with the bill, adding that he believes the bill will become law even with a veto from President George Bush.

“Nobody got everything they wanted in the bill, but I don’t think we have any major complaints with the bill at this point in time, just from first blush,” May said.

“Of course the President is still threatening to veto, but with the vote that came down, I think that it is highly unlikely that the veto would be effective because something like 30 votes would have to be overturned for the veto to go into effect.”

Farm Bill Meets White House More Than Half Way
Congressman Sanford Bishop backed a bipartisan Farm bill that invests in improved nutrition, conservation, renewable energy and farm programs.

“This bill will help producers of all commodities stay on the land they hold and love, and encourage conservation of natural resources and land for use by future generations,” said Bishop. “Many of the needs of Southwest Georgia are addressed by this bill.”

Struggling farmers will receive much needed aid because of the legislation. The Farm Bill also reforms disaster assistance to make it a permanent, paid-for program for farmers with crops stricken by natural disasters such as drought and flood.
Despite the reforms to farm programs within the bill and the critical programs funded by this long-worked for legislation, President Bush has threatened a veto.

Delta Council Supports Override

Senator Saxby Chambliss at the 2007 Annual Meeting

In preparation for the first veto of a Farm Bill in more than 30 years, Delta Council leaders, along with major conservation, nutrition, and other farm organizations are encouraging law makers to override the anticipated veto which the White House has already announced.

In correspondence with the Mississippi Congressional Delegation, Delta Council stressed that while the recently-passed piece of legislation does not achieve “all things for all concerns,” it represents a carefully balanced compromise of policy priorities which has broad support from farmers, nutrition advocates, conservation organizations, and financial institutions that provide capital to farmers and the huge agribusiness infrastructure of the United States and the Mississippi Delta.

“The pressures of increased funding for conservation and nutrition programs caused our farm-state leaders in the Congress to work extremely hard and long hours so that this proposal met budget objectives, while satisfying the other programs administered by USDA, but even with the many concessions which were required in order to secure passage, this legislation represents the best bi-partisan approach to a new five-year Farm Bill which could have been accomplished, in our judgment,” stated Bill Kennedy, President of Delta Council, the regional organization representing business and agriculture in the Delta.

The House and Senate voted overwhelmingly in support of the Farm Bill this past week and will likely schedule a vote to determine whether the bill will be overridden before the Memorial Day recess of Congress. The affirmative vote for the measure in the House and Senate reflects a margin which would meet the necessary requirements for an override.

“We especially want to express our appreciation to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) for their pivotal role in negotiating this compromise which, in our view, represents sound policy and a 5-year approach toward some level of certainty that U.S. food, agriculture, rural development, nutrition and conservation policy will be stable,” added Kennedy.