Congress does not want to make further cuts in U.S. farm subsidies despite a veto threat from President George W. Bush, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee said on Thursday.
"I don't have the votes for it," said Chairman Tom Harkin, who is in charge of House-Senate negotiations over the final version of the five-year, $286 billion farm bill.
The White House wants to end crop subsidies to farmers and landowners with an adjusted gross income above $200,000 a year. The cut-off now is $2.5 million except for people who get at least 75 percent of their income from farming.
Lawmakers have voted for farm subsidy reforms but not the $200,000 AGI cap. The House farm bill proposes a $500,000 AGI limit for part-time farmers and a "hard" cap of $1 million AGI for full-time farmers. The Senate would set a $750,000 "soft" cap with no limit if two-thirds of income is from agriculture.
During a telephone news conference, Harkin said, "I assume we'll strike some kind of a median in between" the House and Senate bills. But there is no support for a new round of cuts, said the Iowa Democrat.
In remarks at the Agriculture Department on Wednesday, Bush said he would veto the farm bill if it raises taxes or fails to reform the farm program. Administration officials have been adamant about the $200,000 AGI cap.
"We'll get a bill that we'll send him. I hope he'll sign it. We'll see," said Harkin.
In a letter, two dozen religious, international development and good-government groups voiced support for reform.
"We would like to work with you to limit trade-distorting subsidies and limit the commodity payments given to wealthy landowners," said the letter to Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer.
Harkin said he wanted to send the farm bill to Bush before mid-March. That is when congressional economists update their estimates of the cost of federal programs. The new estimate is expected to allow less money for farm supports.
The House and Senate have voted for two reforms requested by the administration -- requiring farm payments to be tracked to an individual and ending the "three-entity" rule that allows growers to collect subsidies directly and through two affiliated operations. They also would abolish "commodity certificates" that can be used to maximize subsidies.Reuters
