House Approves Final Farm Bill; Bush Will Sign

May 3, 2002

The House Thursday approved the final version of the farm bill by a 280-141 vote. President Bush said he will sign the measure once the Senate approves the bill that was approved by a bicameral conference committee.

Supporting the bill are groups as diverse as dairy producers and processors, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union as well as Ducks Unlimited and organizations representing most other commodities.

"In addition to desperately needed help for farmers, it contains the largest single increase in conservation funding in history, significant gains for food stamp and nutrition funding, more resources for agricultural research, increased incentives for renewable fuels production, and a strengthened commitment to our rural communities. And it is all accomplished within limits of the budget," said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) who also chaired the conference committee.

"This Farm Bill provides for a strong safety net for our agricultural producers. The counter-cyclical payments it provides to program crop producers will mean that Congress will not need to provide additional ad hoc income support when prices are in decline," said Rep. Charlie Stenholm (D-TX), the committee's ranking Democrat. "Most importantly, it will continue to provide the American people with the most abundant food supply, the highest quality food and the safest food at the lowest cost to the consumer of any country in the world."

Bush said he was "pleased that the compromise agreement on the farm bill resulted in better balanced commodity loan rates; spending that is no longer front-loaded; and the strongest conservation provisions of any farm bill ever passed by Congress."

Although the bill reflects little of what the administration had wanted, Bush said it is "consistent with America's international trade obligations, which will strengthen our ability to open foreign markets for American farm products."

He added, "While this compromise agreement did not satisfy all of my objectives, I am pleased that this farm bill provides a generous and reliable safety net for our nation's farmers and ranchers and is consistent with the principles I outlined."