A Farm Bill for All Americans

As the nation faces heightened concerns related to food and the economy, President Bush has chosen to veto the Farm Bill that this Congress sent him last week. Congress has taken up the Farm Bill reauthorization in part to address the needs of our nation's farmers and farm workers, as well as the nutritional needs of our country as a whole.

Agriculture in the United States is a vital component of our American fabric. Farmers and those who work the fields tend to our lands, feed our children, and embody the principles that this country stands for: perseverance, sacrifice, and hard work. Latinos are embedded in this American tradition and helping sustain it. Between 1997 and 2002, the Census of Agriculture reported a 200% increase in Latino farmers. An overwhelming 78 percent of farm workers today are foreign born. Of those, 75 percent were from Mexico and 2 percent from Central America. Of all farm workers, 83 percent self-identified as Latinos. As this population continues to grow, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has committed itself to providing the Hispanic agricultural community with the resources and assistance needed to maintain their livelihoods. It is imperative that we continue supporting them to our fullest capacity.

Last week, Congress helped do just that -- sending the bi-partisan Farm Bill, passed with veto-proof margins by both the House of Representatives and Senate, to the White House. Thanks to the efforts of our Members, the bill incorporates several provisions directed towards helping Latino farmers and farm workers, while also extending programs to vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.

Latino farmers, a group that often harvests specialty crops, will undoubtedly benefit from the $1.6 billion allocated for fresh fruit and vegetable production. Resources will be funneled to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI's) that have programs in agriculture, so that they can continue to improve on and pioneer new innovations in the agricultural sector. America must remain on the cutting edge of technology. With Latinos continuing to be an integral part of this industry, it is only wise to incorporate them and the institutions of higher learning that serve them, in efforts to promote this sector's growth.

There are 2.5 million migrant and seasonal farm workers. For this country, they help produce 3.6 billion pounds of tomatoes, 10.9 billion pounds of lettuce, and 5 billion tons of apples. The strawberries they pick amount to $1.47 billion worth of produce. Yet, even after all these contributions, farm workers continue to be underpaid and exposed to dangerous conditions. That is why I was glad to push for the inclusion of a project on pesticide safety research, which will look at the long-term effects of pesticide exposure on farm workers and their families -- including a look at the increase risk of cancer and birth defects, as well as much other needed research.

It is important to understand that the Farm Bill does more than simply benefit the agricultural industry. Many families nationwide are feeling the onerous economic pressures caused by a volatile economy. Low-income minorities, including Latinos, comprise a significant portion of those most affected. The Farm Bill expands several federal programs to adjust for these changes. It increases funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) from $140 million to $250 million, while strengthening USDA school food programs, and helping put more fresh fruits and vegetables in our school's lunch rooms.

The CHC is proud of what its Members have fought to incorporate in the final the version of this bill. As CHC Members have remained involved throughout the Farm Bill's long path, the bill reflects many of the priorities of the CHC and needs of Hispanic community. By engaging the fastest growing community in the nation -- Latinos -- we ensure that our investments will return, benefiting not just one segment of the population or one industry, but our country in its entirety.

Today's veto was a loud message to the president, in support of all Americans who need the support this bill provides now.

Congressman Joe Baca represents the 43rd District of California. He sits on the House Agriculture Committee, and is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry. He is also the Chair of the 21-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Comments

[FunkyP]

I have been looking for information on how much this is going to cost, but for some strange reason I have had some difficulty pinning down any numbers. I am against all these farm subsidies; paying dairy farmers and sugar farmers to falsely inflate the prices of these commodities. Paying farmers to NOT grow crops is another travesty. The Conservatives are all about self-reliance until it comes to corporate welfare, then it's time to help the 'needy' (or should I say greedy). I have no problem with humanitarian aid and helping family farms, it's the agribusiness hand outs that sting (I'm looking at you ADM midlands, Cargill, Monsanto and the rest). Let's find out which of these companies are pushing this bill, through their lobbying efforts and campaign contributions and expose this bloated fraud of a farm bill. Maybe some of the politicians supporting it should pay the price at the polls in November...I understand this bill is loaded with earmarks by politicians trying to buy votes in their districts...where can we find a list of these earmarks?
As to cost...one reference I found, the CBO, estimates cost at $306,790,000 for 2008-2012. About $75 billion/year. Thats billion. http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/92xx/doc9230/hr2419conf.pdf
Can we trim the fat and spend our limited resources better than by paying sugar farmers so they do not have to compete on the world market?

[Lemeritus]

Here's the deal -- no one wants to say to hell with something called "The Patriot Act" because in the back of our minds, we're all patriots, being a patriot is a good thing so the bill must be a good thing. ('Course, we all know how that worked out -- TWICE).

And no one wants to say, hold up there, let's take a look at that Farm Bill because we love our farmers, we love the idea that we come from yeoman stock (hell, we come from people who shot their own food -- hence the staying power of owning even the most outrageous guns -- and ate the food they grew on our own land).

But the fact is, while 92% of U.S. farms are considered small family farms, 68% of production comes from large family or non-family farms -- and these large farms receive 3/4 of government commodity subsidies. (Just so's you know: http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter3.htm). Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, we've all gotta eat, but I'm inclined to agree with sky2blue's professor: "you can't give even give the poor crumbs unless you give the rich a 5 course meal."

[petecook5]

Never met a poor farmer. The farm bill is nothing but welfare for big corporations and other farmers who's operations are no longer economically viable. They tell the auto workers to get new skills. They should tell the farmers to get them too. Family farming in the U.S. is the biggest myth next to the easter bunny.

[Marrigan]

You're half right, but wrong about family farming being a myth. I know alot of truly amazing people who pour their hearts into maintaining their family farm. They don't take hand-outs, they work longer and harder than most of us, they're good stewards of the land, they treat their animals well, and alot of them hold the kind of debt that would make most of us faint dead away. They're the kind of people who are passionate about what they do. They reap the benefits of a rural lifestyle, but they also take the financial hit when disasters strike. And for those who take advantage of low-interest govt. loans, there are serious strings attached.

Do yourself a favor this weekend and attend a local farmers market. Meet these farmers, buy their products and pray that they become prosperous.

[ez14livin]

I agree with the other posters who question the rhetoric and real beneficieries of this bill.

Farming is an industry artificially propped up in so many ways. Unless this bill is restricted to owner/farmers of less than 500 acres and/or limited to those truly needing assistance (proven by tried and true accounting methods and audits), it is simply more pork barrel politics disguised as emergency relief.

Whose bright idea was it to tout ethanol from corn, which in turn jacked up the price of almost every food staple available in a grocery store literally overnite? You want to provide some relief? How about truly investing in alternative energy and watch the rewards be distributed to all over the coming decades? Oh, but that wouldn't limit the rewards to the uber rich, would it?

When will the proponents of capitalism truly let the market determine activity? We are socialist in every aspect as relates to corporations with lobby dollars to buy and or even write the laws.

Anytime this government steps in to help, it is really only to help those who need it least; perpetual plundering by the plutocracy.

Please don't tell me what you are going to do, Rep Baca. Let your actions speak for themselves and others praise your good and noble works when the real costs and benefits have been tallied.

[Marrigan]

One of my favorite authors for a regional farming magazine started off a recent column by quoting Will Rogers. "It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so." One of the things that we know that ain't so is that when the government gets to pick winners and losers in any industry, much less one as important to our very survival as farming, the American public benefits. Besides the windfall for corporate farms, a good chunk ends up supporting more beaucracy and is further laundered through grant programs that fund agenda-driven big university research. This farm bill (like all other farm bills) is pure political pandering.

[vippy]

I have seen some farmers come to pick up their check in an airplane!

[BlackbirdHighway]

I haven't read it, but I've heard so many bad things about this farm bill.

Is it true that a large part of the payments go to addresses in Manhatten, NYC? Is it true that "farmers" who have up to $One Million dollars in non-farm income (per year!) are eligible for payments? If I made a million dollars a year, I don't think I should be getting help from the government!

Is it true that famers get paid if a piece of the Columbia space shuttle landed on their property, even if it didn't cause any damge? Is it true that these payments start at $40,000 and go up from there? Why should farmers be profiting on a national tragedy?

I'm all for helping out the family farmer, but this bill goes way beyond that.

[RnR]

How nuch of this farm bill is aiding American Family Farmers? How much goes to big agriculture?
The leading cause of death among family farmers (American citizens by the way) is suicide - our glorious government has stacked the deck against them.

It is a fact that SMALL, DIVERSIFIED farms are up to 400% more productive than large agribusiness operations. Notice any food shortages lately or were they orchestrated? Oh, but it's ok, Monsanto makes a killing on fertilizers and pesticides trying to replace the soil nutrients artificially sucked out of the earth by specialized "farming" (and I use the term "farming" loosely).

Monsanto is destroying natural food enabled by the scotus ("life" is patentable - exactly what are their qualifications for making that judgment?). Nothing is done about them. Our government won't even demand that their genetically modified "food" is labeled. Where are your responsibilities? Where do your interests lie? Monsanto is a corporate ebola virus. CAFO's (controlled animal feeding operations) are legitimized animal cruelty. Where is any conscience at all in our Congress? Maybe that's the wrong question.

The American Family Farmer could feed this country nuch more efficiently and healthily than big agribusiness could imagine. Why not give their own money back to them.

[DaveDonelson]

The Farm Bill embodies the "pour something into every trough" approach to legislation that has ballooned our deficit, undercut our currency, and make our government the unabashed tool of special interests. I'm very happy to see that Hispanic farm workers are supposed to benefit from this bill--except there seems to be a remarkable lack of detail on how that is supposed to happen aside from a vague trickle-down promise that Latino farmers will get some of the $1.6 billion allocated for fresh fruit and vegetable production and field workers will have a better life once the checks for pesticide research funds are cashed by the chemical companies. Sorry--I ain't drinking that Kool-Aid.
The school lunch program and food stamps aside, If the entire list of recipients of this largess were every published, we'd find that 99.999% of it is going into corporate pockets. When you add in the effect of this legislation on world food supplies, it makes the U.S. a major contributor to recurring famine. It's disgraceful. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of themselves for approving it.
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds

[researcher]

if bush is for it i am against it if bush is against it i am for it.

the man was the first son and has proven to be not the brightest bulb on the planet.

of course smart enough to get dumb americans to vote for him. dumb is as dumb does.

[JimR]

I hate to say it, but Bush is right on this.

[LiberalBuzz]

Well until I read the bill itself (got a link or actual summerization including hidden add ons?) I'll wait to really comment but to be honest congressman,your little post sounds just too much like a stump speech.

Long on feel good rhetoric and absolutely zero on actual substance.

No bill really helps small farmers as much as it helps big agra with subsidies and other forms of protection to help keep the small farms down and make millionaires out of big farm factories to NOT grow certain crops.

And so tell us really what this is going to cost the American taxpayer for illegal aliens? AND honestly do you believe in amnesty for all and open borders to allow all illegals to simply show up because they can save us a quarter on a head of lettuce?

[mileage]

The farm bill, among other things, subsidizes US farmers (who don't need the money) to produce too much corn which is either used to make fuel or processed into high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener used in just about every processed food imaginable in the US with dire consequences for American health. High Fructose corn syrup is used in place of sugar because the US pays sugar farmers way above the world market price for sugar and also bans the import of sugar at world prices. As a result, sugar farmers in developing countries lose access to the US market and mexican corn farmers are wiped out by subsidized American corn. Now unemployed, these groups have a strong incentive to migrate where there might be work - in the US.

The farm bill is not the root of all evil, it is merely the root of mny evils that plagues our nation and its politics in 2008.

[vippy]

Small farmers are driven out of business, in comes the rich who buy up several farms and run it
like a co-op.

[23000Days]

I am pleased to see the efforts toward assisting migrant agricultural workers. But it sure is puzzling, coming from our current congress! Hopefully the Obama presidency will produce much more of the same sort of humanitarian action.
That said, I've read that overall this was a giveaway to big-agra.

[milo9]

Congressman Baca, Farm Bill Good. Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms bad!

[vippy]

The telecoms have paid our politicians well so they will approve the retroactive immunity.
Rockefeller, who does not need the money, got milions from one telecom company.
Shame, they go for money rather than what is good for the people!

[sky2blue]

My college professor who taugh Soci class on Race and Poverty told us with our govt, you can't give even give the poor crumbs unless you give the rich a 5 course meal. Or something to that effect, he said.

Anyway, to HuffPo commentors, I'm sure the bill has some problems, but let's appreciate the good it does and work on it later when we have a greater Dem majority, or smaller Republican minority, whichever one suits you.