Key Vote Alert – “NO” on the Farm Bill Conference Report (HR 2642)

KEY VOTE ALERT

“NO” on the Farm Bill Conference Report (HR 2642)

The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to vote “NO” on the conference report to the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (HR 2642). We expect a vote in the House later this week, with a vote in the Senate some time thereafter. The vote will be included in the Club’s 2014 Congressional Scorecard.

For starters, this 949-page bill is yet another bloated proposal that House and Senate leaders are rushing through Congress without giving members and the public enough time to read and understand the bill. The CBO hasn’t even issued an official score at the time of this key vote alert’s release.

Second, this bill continues, for blatant political reasons, the unholy marriage of agricultural subsidies and food stamps – two completely separate issues. At a minimum, these two programs should be voted on as separate, stand-alone bills. True reform would also include implementing a plan to devolve the food stamp program to the states and eventually eliminate federal agricultural subsidies. This bill is well short of that goal. Instead, it’s a “Christmas Tree” bill where there’s a gift for practically every special interest group out there with a well-connected lobbyist, including the fresh-cut Christmas tree industry!