CCAGW Applauds Farm Bill Reform Proposal | Citizens Against Government Waste

CCAGW Applauds Farm Bill Reform Proposal

Press Release

For Immediate ReleaseContacts:    Leslie K. Paige (202) 467-5334
June 13, 2007Alexa Moutevelis (202) 467-5318

 

Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) released the following statement of CCAGW President Thomas A. Schatz commenting on the introduction of “The Food and Agriculture Risk Management for the 21st Century Act” (FARM-21):

On behalf of the 1.2 million members and supporters of CCAGW, I applaud Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), and Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) on the introduction of legislation today that would put U.S. farm policy on the right track by transitioning away from the current archaic system of farm subsidies to a fair and equitable safety net through risk management accounts.

Between 2002 and 2006, the current farm subsidy system cost taxpayers an average of $20 billion annually.  In 2004, farm subsidy programs raised the cost of food to consumers by $16.2 billion.  Most subsidies go to the wealthiest farmers.  In 2003, the top 10 percent of farm subsidy recipients collected 72 percent of total subsidies and the top 5 percent collected 55 percent of payments.  Rather than keep smaller farmers on the land, farm subsidy programs contribute to farm consolidation and higher land prices, resulting in fewer jobs in rural areas and loss of population.  Farm subsidy programs also are an obstacle to expanding international trade and undercut subsistence farmers in developing nations that cannot afford to subsidize their own farmers.  

Under FARM-21, current price-contingent programs, including counter-cyclical payments, would be phased out and eliminated after 2009, replaced with direct payments that would be deposited in individual risk management accounts, which could be used to purchase crop insurance, cover income losses, or invest in other on-farm improvements, such as conservation.  Loan deficiency payments would be replaced with a recourse loan program.  The legislation would also decrease direct payments, remove the planting restriction that prevents planting specialty crops, and eliminate the sugar program.

FARM-21 would direct some of the savings to other farm programs, such as nutrition, conservation, and rural development.  CCAGW particularly applauds the fact that this legislation would also provide real financial relief to taxpayers, saving $4.4 billion over five years and $23 billion over 10 years. 

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

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