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Posted on 3/6/09 at 11:28 am to AreJay
WASHINGTON (AP) — A five-year farm bill in Congress this week does little to address the growing global food crisis. Instead, it diverts money that could be spent feeding poor children abroad to give more subsidies for U.S. farmers now enjoying record high crop prices and incomes.
Food experts, international aid groups and the White House all complain that the $300 billion bill crafted by House and Senate negotiators focuses on the wrong priorities. The bill has widespread bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. President Bush has promised to veto it. While the legislation does send some food relief abroad, the amount is less than 1 percent of the bill’s total cost. At the same time, the measure maintains subsidies to U.S. farmers at levels that hurt poor countries trying to produce food on their own, critics say. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said last week the bill is incompatible with the world economy as poor
weather, high fuel prices and growing need are contributing to higher food prices and severe hunger in developing nations. Bush contends it’s too expensive and too generous to wealthy U.S. farmers. “At a time like this, I just don’t see how we can drastically reduce our capability to respond to those in need,” Schafer said.
The House last year voted a big increase for one popular international aid program, the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. But that boost, which would have guaranteed $840 million over five years, didn’t make it into the final bill, which is up for votes this week. That program
now gets about $100 million each year but is subject to annual appropriations bills.
The McGovern-Dole program was cut to one-tenth of the House amount in recent weeks as lawmakers
scrambled for ways to maintain, increase and begin new subsidies for various crops.
Rep. Jim McGovern, DMass. said that rising global food costs would mean that more schools in developing countries will have to quit offering the promise of meals to encourage school attendance. International aid groups have long criticized U.S. farm bills for ignoring the plight of farmers in developing ountries by making them compete with wealthy, taxpayer-subsidized American growers. By maintaining the bulk of direct payments — billions of dollars in subsidies that are distributed to farmers no matter how much they grow — and other subsidies in this bill, lawmakers failed to help the poor,
the groups say.
Article View Hits
Article Window 3/6/09 11:13 AM
LINK Page 2 of 2
SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office AP
Food experts, international aid groups and the White House all complain that the $300 billion bill crafted by House and Senate negotiators focuses on the wrong priorities. The bill has widespread bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. President Bush has promised to veto it. While the legislation does send some food relief abroad, the amount is less than 1 percent of the bill’s total cost. At the same time, the measure maintains subsidies to U.S. farmers at levels that hurt poor countries trying to produce food on their own, critics say. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said last week the bill is incompatible with the world economy as poor
weather, high fuel prices and growing need are contributing to higher food prices and severe hunger in developing nations. Bush contends it’s too expensive and too generous to wealthy U.S. farmers. “At a time like this, I just don’t see how we can drastically reduce our capability to respond to those in need,” Schafer said.
The House last year voted a big increase for one popular international aid program, the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. But that boost, which would have guaranteed $840 million over five years, didn’t make it into the final bill, which is up for votes this week. That program
now gets about $100 million each year but is subject to annual appropriations bills.
The McGovern-Dole program was cut to one-tenth of the House amount in recent weeks as lawmakers
scrambled for ways to maintain, increase and begin new subsidies for various crops.
Rep. Jim McGovern, DMass. said that rising global food costs would mean that more schools in developing countries will have to quit offering the promise of meals to encourage school attendance. International aid groups have long criticized U.S. farm bills for ignoring the plight of farmers in developing ountries by making them compete with wealthy, taxpayer-subsidized American growers. By maintaining the bulk of direct payments — billions of dollars in subsidies that are distributed to farmers no matter how much they grow — and other subsidies in this bill, lawmakers failed to help the poor,
the groups say.
Article View Hits
Article Window 3/6/09 11:13 AM
LINK Page 2 of 2
SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office AP
Page 2 of 2
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