Veneman Defends Farm Law Against Criticisms

May 22, 2002

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman says when you add in the supplemental assistance Congress has given farmers in the past four years to the AMTA payments under the 1996 farm law, the total is about par with what the new farm law provides.

"Some are saying that the new farm bill provides a 70% boost in farm program support and that support has ballooned out of control," she said Tuesday. "Well, that's not the whole truth. People are comparing apples and oranges. When examining the support we provide for our farm sector, it's important to add in the emergency supplemental support that's been provided during the last four years into those figures, to be accurate. That's roughly an additional $7.5 billion each year for the last four years. The new farm bill provides roughly $7.4 billion each year in new spending for farm programs."

She noted the new law makes significant changes in farm program structure and funding. It will bring "much needed stability to our farmers and ranchers as they conduct their business." It continues direct payments based on historical plantings and yields. It creates a new system of counter cyclical payments based on market prices in relation to target prices.

It revises and rebalances loan rates for the marketing loan program for major grains and oilseeds. It provides a record level of support for conservation, an 80% increase, 85% of which will be used for programs on working farmlands, and it adds new programs to preserve wetlands and improve soil and water quality.

But since President Bush signed the bill into law, "we've heard a lot of noise out there, particularly from people from other countries regarding what's contained in this new bill. Many of the claims we're hearing, we think are just unjust, and some, for their own political purposes, are distorting the facts."

Officials in other countries also contend that this farm law "undermines our international trade position. The WTO permits the United States to spend $19.1 billion annually for certain types of farm program support. This compares to $31 billion for Japan and $62 billion for the EU," Veneman retorted.