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Bipartisan threat faces the farm bill |
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By Jonathan E. Kaplan and Jackie Kucinich
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Posted: 07/27/07 05:42 PM [ET] |
House Democratic leaders have persuaded a coalition of liberal and black lawmakers to back an increasingly controversial farm bill, but it might not be enough to overcome the opposition from Democratic reformers and Republicans threatening to block the bill from coming to the House floor.
If a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, united in opposition by different factors, defeated the rule governing debate on the bill, it would be a historic and crushing defeat for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.).
Farm-state Republicans, who initially indicated they would support the bill, were furious after a measure increasing taxes by $4 billion on U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies was added to the farm bill.
“Many, many Republicans who would have voted for the bill will now vote against it,” said Bob Goodlatte (Va.), the ranking Republican on the Agriculture Committee.
The move angered some Democrats, too.
“It is hard for me to vote for this rule. I’m a team player, but my word, that’s tough,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), complaining that the Rules Committee rejected his amendments revamping the farm bill.
Blumenauer and Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) are leading a group of Democrats who want to cut subsidies to traditional crops like corn and wheat and direct more money to nutrition and conservation programs.
“This does not make sense. If the other side were doing this we would be raising holy hell,” Kind said. “If the process breaks down, this place loses its sense of fairness.”
Kind told Democrats at a Thursday morning caucus meeting that the tax increase would not be needed if the bill included “serious” reform.
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) sent a letter on Thursday to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) expressing his concern that the tax increase could adversely affect a Firestone plant in his district.
Rangel defended his move at the Thursday morning caucus meeting, said sources in the room. He told lawmakers that he was forced to find a way to pay for the increased spending on nutrition and food stamp programs and reminded the caucus that if committees continued to pass authorization bills without offsetting spending cuts or tax increases, he would be forced to find them himself.
Meanwhile, House Republicans met for a second time this week after Democrats added a revenue-raising provision late Wednesday. Some Republican lawmakers who had been willing to vote for the farm bill indicated they would oppose it if the tax measure were not stripped from the bill.
“If the tax increase stays in, our members are going to have a hard time voting for this farm bill,” said a House GOP aide. “This is a tax on companies in their districts and has no place in the farm bill.”
Several Democratic lawmakers said the situation was “fluid” on Thursday afternoon, although it appeared that Democratic leaders had satisfied Northeastern liberals and members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) after consulting with them very early Thursday morning on the House floor.
Adding money for international nutrition programs and the food stamp program, Pelosi and Peterson won the support of Reps. James McGovern (D-Mass.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
The CBC announced Thursday that its members would support the bill.
The reformers do not plan on giving up their fight, even welcoming President Bush’s threat to veto the bill.
“If there are not more elements of reform, this should be vetoed,” Blumenauer said. “This is one of those cases where [a bill] might get better with time.”
Goodlatte said he expressed his regret to Peterson that if the tax increase stays in the bill, he won’t support it.
“They had a bipartisan bill that would withstand a presidential veto,” Goodlatte said. “And now they do not.”
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees plans to include a vote for the farm bill and against Kind's amendment as part of its political scorecard, giving Democrats an incentive to vote for the bill.
Asked if the vote was important to Democratic unity, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters, "It's important for the country and, yes, we want to have a unified party."
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