Ag Secretary grilled on farm bill

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1100&u_sid=2327285

Published Thursday | February 8, 2007
Ag Secretary grilled on farm bill
BY JOSEPH MORTON
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Skeptical U.S. senators peppered Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns with questions Wednesday about the administration's new farm bill.

One of the most high-profile aspects of the bill - prohibiting commodity subsidies to farmers with adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more - came under fire at the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.

Johanns, former governor of Nebraska, was asked why the federal government would subject farmers to such means testing when it doesn't do the same for manufacturing and oil companies that receive tax benefits.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., grilled Johanns about a situation in which a farmer has one good year that puts him over the income cap, then can't receive payments when he is hit by drought, flood or other troubles.

FULL story at link

[redqueen]

1. It would be really amazing if Chambliss

was the same person who asked about the oil & mfg subsidies. Wish they'd have identified THAT senator.

[havocmom]

2. Good article, important issues

And yeah, we might wanna consider our dependence on imported foods. One of the first order of business in 2001 was GOP scrapping requirement for labeling foods with Country Of Origin. At THAT time, about 40% of what was available in most markets was from overseas. Now? Well, we don't know, do we?

Think dependence on foreign oil threathens America? It certainly does! Now, just how big a threat is depending on huge multi-national corporations for your FOOD?

Support for independent American farmers is good for US security!