Veto clouds prospects for farmer disaster assistance
Veto clouds prospects for farmer disaster assistance
WASHINGTON -- Spinach producers may not see the $25 million bailout money, but farmers are hopeful that more than $3 billion in disaster assistance will be part of the next Iraq war supplemental bill.
On May 1, President Bush vetoed the latest bill that would have funded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying it would mandate an artificial date for troop withdrawal and was "loaded with billions of dollars in non-emergency spending that has nothing to do with fighting the war on terror."
Stripped from the final bill was an amendment that would have allowed $25 million for spinach producers struggling from last year's E. coli outbreak. The money did not survive the conference committee, according to an aide to Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA).
Mr. Farr, who represents the hard-hit Salinas Valley area, had secured the money in the House version, but there was little support in the Senate. The money is necessary, he said, because producers lost millions of dollars when they voluntarily pulled fresh spinach from markets in reaction to the FDA's public health advisory.
Unfortunately, the spinach bailout money became the "whipping boy" for pork barrel politics, said Mr. Farr's aide, who added that it was unclear whether the money would be attached to the next Iraq war supplemental or pursued during the agriculture appropriations process.
But the weather-related disaster assistance funds, which cannot be tapped by financially strapped spinach producers, may still be in play.
"We don't have any reason to believe the money will not be part of the next package," said a spokesman for Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who pushed for the $3.5 billion in funding for farmers and ranchers who have suffered weather-related losses.
Despite President Bush's veto of the bill, there is clearly support in the House and the Senate to keep agriculture disaster assistance money in the emergency supplemental, he said.
Sen. Dorgan has been working to secure emergency funds for three years. "It's clear he will not be deterred easily," said his spokesman.
Last month, Sen. Dorgan was blocked from adding an amendment to the Iraq war supplemental that would have moved up the implementation date for the country-of-origin labeling law.
A vocal advocate for the labeling program, Sen. Dorgan has a similar bill that would require country-of-origin labeling to go into effect in Sept. 20, 2007, rather than the current law's deadline of September 2008.
On May 1, President Bush vetoed the latest bill that would have funded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying it would mandate an artificial date for troop withdrawal and was "loaded with billions of dollars in non-emergency spending that has nothing to do with fighting the war on terror."
Stripped from the final bill was an amendment that would have allowed $25 million for spinach producers struggling from last year's E. coli outbreak. The money did not survive the conference committee, according to an aide to Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA).
Mr. Farr, who represents the hard-hit Salinas Valley area, had secured the money in the House version, but there was little support in the Senate. The money is necessary, he said, because producers lost millions of dollars when they voluntarily pulled fresh spinach from markets in reaction to the FDA's public health advisory.
Unfortunately, the spinach bailout money became the "whipping boy" for pork barrel politics, said Mr. Farr's aide, who added that it was unclear whether the money would be attached to the next Iraq war supplemental or pursued during the agriculture appropriations process.
But the weather-related disaster assistance funds, which cannot be tapped by financially strapped spinach producers, may still be in play.
"We don't have any reason to believe the money will not be part of the next package," said a spokesman for Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who pushed for the $3.5 billion in funding for farmers and ranchers who have suffered weather-related losses.
Despite President Bush's veto of the bill, there is clearly support in the House and the Senate to keep agriculture disaster assistance money in the emergency supplemental, he said.
Sen. Dorgan has been working to secure emergency funds for three years. "It's clear he will not be deterred easily," said his spokesman.
Last month, Sen. Dorgan was blocked from adding an amendment to the Iraq war supplemental that would have moved up the implementation date for the country-of-origin labeling law.
A vocal advocate for the labeling program, Sen. Dorgan has a similar bill that would require country-of-origin labeling to go into effect in Sept. 20, 2007, rather than the current law's deadline of September 2008.
