|
The House voted to override President Bush's second veto of the farm bill today, as lawmakers repeat the legal process on the bill in a attempt to remedy the problem created by missing paperwork.
The 317-109 vote is the penultimate act in what is expected to be the final chapter of a "Groundhog Day" scenario that lawmakers have faced on the farm bill. The Senate is expected to vote on the veto override tonight.
Congress all but wrapped up its long slog on the farm bill last month when it approved the bill and overrode Bush's veto, but it is repeating the process again because a clerical error left the 34-page trade title out of the bill the president vetoed.
The paperwork snafu on the farm bill meant the last override essentially enacted only 14 of the 15 titles. The trade title -- which includes international food aid and a certification program for softwood lumber -- still is not officially law.
Lawmakers chose to vote on the entire bill again, rather than just the trade title, to make sure there would be no dispute over the legality of their actions.
They sent the bill to President Bush again, and he vetoed it again today.
In his veto message, Bush said lawmakers missed a chance to reform farm subsidies and international food aid. "Unfortunately, the Congress chose to send me the same unacceptable farm bill provisions in H.R. 6124, merely adding title III," Bush said.
Bush criticized funding in the bill he characterized as earmarks -- including $175 million to address water issues for desert lakes and authority to sell national forest land to a ski resort. Bush tied the farm bill in with election-year cries from his party that Democrats are overspending.
"Rural and urban Americans alike are frustrated with excessive government spending and the funneling of taxpayer funds for pet projects. This bill will only add to that frustration," Bush said.
The House action sends the bill to the Senate, which is expected to easily outweigh the White House, finally enacting the entire farm bill into law.
"Despite the president's continued opposition to the bill, the results will remain the same. Neither clerical errors nor presidential vetoes will prevent this farm bill from becoming law," Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said in a statement today.
The five-year farm bill continues most crop subsidies, increases funding for working-lands conservation programs and has incentives intended to spur cellulosic ethanol production. More than half of farm bill funding goes to food stamps and other nutrition programs.
USDA has already started to implement some of the farm bill programs in the new law. Agency officials announced last week they would start implementing the marketing assistance loan and loan deficiency payment provisions in the act.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
