Sen. Lugar Criticizes Agricultural Policy

January 21, 2002

In an editorial/op-ed appearing in today's edition of The New York Times, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), questions "the current misguided path" of farm policy. In his editorial entitled "The Farm Charade", the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, argues that "passage of the Daschle-Harkin bill would halt attempts to reform America's distorted agricultural policy."

He expresses the belief that "American agricultural policy distorts food prices, frustrates innovation, limits product diversity and subsidizes a select group of farmers at enormous public cost. Its inherent protectionist qualities confound American efforts to reduce protectionism abroad and gain access to new markets."

The Senator from Indiana proposes an alternative farm program than the farm bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA). Under Sen. Lugar's farm plan, "each farmer would receive a federal payment equaling 6 percent of total farm receipts", which would enable the farmer to pay the premium for whole-farm income insurance that would provide assurance of 80 percent of an average income taken over a five-year period.

Although his "first try at this plan failed by a vote of 70 to 30" on the Senate floor in December, Sen. Lugar intend to again "offer a fairer plan" when the Senate takes up debate of the farm bill early this year. At the end of his editorial he observes that "we can bring back vitality to rural America without perpetuating the spiral of counterproductive subsidies."