Farm Bill doesn’t deserve passage

Published 10:06 pm Sunday, September 15, 2013

Time is running out for Congress to fix the Farm Bill. With some farm programs due to expire at the end of the month, and Congress distracted by everything from Syria to the debt ceiling, it’s more and more likely they’ll simply extend the 2008 farm bill.

That’s fine — it will give members a chance to fix what’s wrong with the House and Senate measures passed in recent months.

And in the meantime, passing an extension of the 2008 bill would put an end to some of the silly tactics now being used.

“The top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee has launched a new strategy for passing a farm bill this year: threaten to send milk prices skyrocketing,” The Hill reported on Wednesday. “Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) said he called Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack this week suggesting that the agency begin the process of implementing the 1949-era dairy policies that would take effect Oct. 1 if Congress fails to act on a farm bill before then.”

As that newspaper explains, “The 1949 law requires the Agriculture Department to manipulate the dairy market in such a way that milk is priced at a floor of roughly $39 per 100 pounds — a figure that would lead milk prices to roughly double at today’s rates.”

That’s right, they’re holding our milk hostage.

It’s more than political theater, however. It’s an illustration of just how convoluted and ridiculous our farm policy has become. The $955 billion piece of legislation is a treasure trove for lobbyists, and they’re on Capitol Hill daily to ensure their constituencies will get their cut.

One of the most egregious problems in the Farm Bill is crop insurance. It began in the Great Depression as a way to keep struggling farmers afloat during bad years (it was a direct response to the Dust Bowl).

But it’s become a revenue source for many corporate farms. It eliminates risk while guaranteeing rewards. And it’s expected to cost taxpayers about $90 billion over the next decade.

Of course, 80 percent of Farm Bill costs are spent on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. So a good first step would be to separate SNAP from farm policies.

“Congress has for decades combined these disparate programs into one bill, enabling it to avoid addressing the merits of the programs,” the Heritage Foundation said. “Separating the two is a prerequisite for reform.”

If they’re not separated, prospects for reform are dim. Even Democrats who acknowledge the agriculture-related portions of the Farm Bill need reform will jealously guard food stamps. And Republicans focused on simply cutting food stamps — without reforming the program — will lose sight of the lower-hanging fruit, such as crop insurance.

So once again, the best thing Congress can do for the taxpayers is nothing. If it passes either of the current bills, it will simply be putting into place five years of bad policy.

It’s much better, at this point, to reject both bills, extend the 2008 legislation for a year or two, and work to reform farm policy overall.