The House yesterday passed a far-reaching new farm bill
that preserves the existing system of subsidies for commercial farmers and adds
billions of dollars for conservation, nutrition and new agricultural
sectors.
Passage of the 741-page bill by a vote of 231 to 191,
after partisan battling unusual for farm legislation, was a major achievement
for the new Democratic leadership.
With most Republicans opposing the five-year bill over a
tax issue, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hammered out a compromise that
held together a shaky majority of Democratic farm-state lawmakers committed to
the entrenched farm subsidy system, together with urban liberals and reformers
seeking sweeping changes.
"This signals change and a new direction," said Pelosi, in
calling for the party to stick together on the contentious vote.
The bill, which has a price tag of almost $286 billion,
boosts spending on preservation of grasslands and wildlife habitat, and
mandates a major study of the
Chesapeake Bay watershed as a first step to restoring the bay by
reducing agricultural and other wastes.
The measure updates the food stamp program, indexing
benefits to inflation, increasing the minimum benefit and raising the standard
deduction. Youth obesity is addressed by a program to introduce healthful
snacks in schools, and more money is authorized for famine relief abroad.
In an important victory for consumer organizations,
imported meat, including hamburger made from multiple animals, will be labeled
by its country of origin starting in October 2008.
Pelosi also cited the bill's emphasis on credits and loan
guarantees for new forms of biofuel produced from grasses and biomass. "Future
farm bills will never look the same," she said.
Nonetheless, major hurdles remain before the massive
legislation becomes law.
The White House, citing insufficient reforms of the subsidy
system, has threatened a veto. Only 19 House Republicans supported the bill's
passage because of the last-minute addition of a tax provision needed to offset
the new Democratic-backed spending on food stamps and nutrition.
Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (Va.), the ranking Republican on the
House Agriculture Committee, accused Democrats of "poisoning the
well" by adding the tax provision to what had been a bipartisan farm bill.
Business lobbies, including the
National Association of Manufacturers, warned that the action
could discourage foreign investment and cost jobs.
Democrats said the provision merely closes a loophole that
allows a limited number of U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies to avoid
taxes. Aides said it is aimed at companies headquartered in tax havens such as
Bermuda, with which the United States has no tax treaty.
Subsidiaries avoid a tax bite by funneling earnings through European countries
that have reciprocal tax-reduction arrangements with the United
States.