TPA Joins Coalition Speaking Out on Outrageous Legislative Process Regarding the Farm Bill

Pictured above are the groups who signed onto yesterday’s letter

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has been following all developments on the Farm Bill with the Senate passing their version in a process designed to nearly eliminate any opportunity to ensure responsible reforms could be put in place to a nearly $1 trillion piece of legislation. The action on the Farm Bill has now moved over to the House side and while Speaker John Boehner had pressed his fellow Representatives to engage in an open and diligent process to improve on a bad bill saying, “If you have ideas on how to make the bill better, bring them forward. Let’s have the debate, and let’s vote on them.” Members responded by submitting 230 amendments to the Rules Committee, many in an effort to achieve the very reforms many taxpayer and free-market groups have been encouraging all throughout the process. Unfortunately, the Rules Committee accepted less than half the amendments filed, which is an outrage considering the cost of the bill relative to other pieces of legislation that have moved through Congress. Yesterday, led by Taxpayers for Commonsense, TPA joined with other free-market and taxpayer groups to voice their opposition to the disgusting process that has led us to the point where we have yet another Farm Bill desperately in need of reform. The letter calls for an open and constructive process by which members can adequately submit amendments that will benefit taxpayers, consumers, and the Agriculture Industry in an effort to ensure that the Farm Bill serves a purpose of making agriculture policy better, as opposed to jamming a bill through Congress without proper debate and opportunity for reform.

Read the full letter below: 

Fiscal Conservative Organizations Outraged at Farm Bill Process

June 19, 2013

Dear Representative:

On behalf of the millions of members our organizations represent, we are outraged at the process surrounding the consideration of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (H.R. 1947), the Farm Bill. After two years of Farm Bill debate occurring everywhere but on the House floor, there is a pent up demand to amend and debate the bill. With a price tag of nearly $1 trillion, we believe taxpayers deserve a more robust debate and too many common sense amendments have been denied an up or down vote.

On June 10th, Speaker Boehner issued a challenge to you and your colleagues regarding the Farm Bill. He said, “If you have ideas on how to make the bill better, bring them forward. Let’s have the debate, and let’s vote on them.” And lawmakers responded, submitting 230 amendments to the Rules Committee. The speaker also promised that “The [Majority] Leader and I will encourage the Rules Committee to provide a fair process that will allow for a vigorous and open debate.”

The Rules Committee evidently had a different idea, only accepting 103, or 45 percent of the amendments filed to this nearly $1 trillion piece of legislation. This is in contrast to other legislation considered this Congress that despite costing far less had a much greater percentage of filed amendments accepted.

The Farm Bill amendments that were discarded included ones that would have helped reform farm and nutrition programs. In a cynical maneuver not in keeping with the Speaker’s direction, the Rules Committee structured the amendment process in an attempt to ensure that the least possible reform would happen. Many smaller reform amendments would have had a greater likelihood of passage. Popular amendments that would make sweeping reform such as splitting the nutrition title off the Farm Bill were left behind. Here’s a handful of the reform amendments – big and small – that the Rules Committee denied an up or down vote. Our individual organizations may support or oppose some of these, but we agree that all deserve debate:

• Amendment (freestanding) to set an Adjusted Gross Income limit on crop insurance premium subsidies
• Amendment to eliminate support for the Brazil Cotton Institute (the House has supported this before)
• Amendment to bifurcate the Farm Bill into agriculture and nutrition bills
• Amendment to eliminate the Harvest Price Option that enables farmers to get higher crop insurance payouts than the level they were initially insured to
• Amendment (freestanding) to limit the crop insurance premium subsidy to $50,000
• Amendment to sever Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program categorical eligibility
• Amendment to prohibit lawmakers or their spouses from receiving benefits or subsidies authorized by the bill
• Amendment to eliminate two year continuation of direct payments for cotton
• Amendment to block grant Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to the states
• Amendment (freestanding) to cap crop insurance industry subsidies at $900 million per year and rate of return at no more than 12 percent

The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation. We urge the House not to jam this bill through the floor without adequate debate and attempts at reform. For more information please contact Josh Sewell, Taxpayers for Common Sense, at 202-546-8500 or josh@taxpayer.net.

Sincerely,

Americans for Prosperity

Campaign for Liberty

Club for Growth

FreedomWorks

R Street Institute

Taxpayers for Common Sense

Taxpayers Protection Alliance