February 28, 2008

The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Congress appears ready to complete work on H.R. 2419, the “Food and Energy Security Act of 2007.”  Beginning with the presentation of the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals, your Administration has been an advocate of farm program reform.  Regrettably, neither the House nor the Senate is following that lead.

We urge you to follow through on your commitment to veto any farm bill legislation that does not contain significant reforms or that contains budget gimmicks or tax increases to boost program funding.  Reports of a pending compromise indicate that as much as $10 billion or more in additional funding will be added to the current baseline, and millionaire farmers would continue to be eligible for payments with some farm subsidies increased over current levels.  These proposals being considered in both the House and Senate fail to correct the shortcomings of the status quo.  This is unacceptable.

The National Farmers Union, American Farm Bureau and other groups recently sent a letter to Congress urging even more in farm state giveaways, saying to do otherwise would be an “unfair burden” to farmers.  Our position is that anything less than a veto of an unreformed, bloated Farm Bill would continue to place an unfair burden on taxpayers. 

Sincerely,

Ryan Alexander
President
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action

Duane Parde
President
National Taxpayers Union

Thomas Schatz
President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

cc:
The Honorable Ed Schafer, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Honorable Jim Nussle, Director, Office of Management and Budget
The Honorable Charles Conner, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable John Boehner, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate

 

RELATED ARTICLE
TCS Joins Coalition Opposing Increases of Reference Prices in the Farm Bill
Tags:

Share This Story!

Related Posts