EWG President Ken Cook
Statement On House Passage of 2008 Farm Bill
14 May 2008

Anyone who might have wondered if this Congress would bring a "new direction" to farm policy had their final answer in today's vote in the House of Representatives.

Democrats are supposed to stand on principles of fairness and equity, not sell them. And today they sold them on the cheap.

If the House had displayed even a modicum of political courage and taken on the subsidy lobby, this farm bill could have gone far beyond the miserly spending increases it provides for nutrition assistance to the poor at home and abroad, conservation, farmers markets, organic food, minority farmers and other important priorities that have long been neglected or under-funded. And there would have been money left over to give taxpayers a break.

Apparently the Democratic caucus thought they were log rolling when the subsidy lobby tossed them some twigs.

In a period when crop prices and farm incomes are soaring to record levels, the continuation of bloated subsidies to the largest, most prosperous farms in the country can only be seen as a breathtaking cop-out on the part of congressional leaders.

Environmental Working Group will be highlighting the good and the bad in this legislation in the days ahead, but we already know how the balance will tip relative to the opportunity for reform in this farm bill cycle: on balance the special interests won, and the public interest lost.