Washington, D.C. - The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released the following statement in response to action taken yesterday by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee to report a farm bill, S. 1628:

“CCAGW is extremely disappointed, although not surprised, by the Senate Agriculture Committee’s rubber-stamping of the irresponsible farm bill passed by the House last month.

“We had hoped that the committee would at least have recognized that, since the present farm legislation does not expire for nearly a year, there was no need to rush legislation through Congress right now.

“We also had hoped that the Senate committee would have been in less of a rush to take such a dramatic step backward in farm policy.  Just like the House-passed bill, S. 1628 not only continues to subsidize the products it has always subsidized and restores all subsidies that have ever been eliminated, but it also creates new subsidies for products that have never been subsidized before.

“Earlier this year, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) had given lip-service to cutting massive subsidies to the largest, wealthiest farmers and directing the money instead to farmers more in need of help.  However, when push came to shove, Harkin and the committee’s Democrat majority sweetened the pot for big grain, cotton and rice farmers, increased subsidies for peanut and sugar growers, plus created an entirely new subsidy program for dairy farmers.

“Under this legislation, the wealthiest farmers will still be allowed to collect crop subsidies in unlimited amounts, plus get an additional $200,000 in payments under two new income–support programs.  When the full Senate considers this massive, unnecessary, and inappropriate subsidy program, it should be promptly sent to the compost heap.”

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest taxpayer advocacy group with over one million members and supporters nationwide.  It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.