Oxfam Gears Up for Conference Fight on Farm Bill
22 January 2008
After disappointing House and Senate votes, reform could come in the details.
As the US House and Senate get back to work this month, a daunting task awaits them: reconciling two different versions of the 2007 Farm Bill before sending it off to the White House.
President Bush has already threatened to veto what’s shaping up to be one of the worst Farm Bills in decades, at least in terms of its impact on global poverty. While both the Senate and House versions of the bill increased funding for domestic anti-hunger programs and conservation initiatives, the drafts fall woefully short of addressing the legislation’s biggest failing, the broken system of farm subsidies that exacerbates rural poverty here and abroad.
Although disappointed by this outcome, Oxfam is encouraged by the steps some Senators took late last year toward real Farm Bill reform. Just before their holiday recess, a majority of the Senate voted to support an amendment that would have placed a $250,000 limit on farm subsidies. Pressure from a small number of powerful Southern Senators eventually blocked the adoption of the amendment. But the momentum behind the vote will require that legislators consider this type of reform as part of the Conference Committee work expected later this month.
With this in mind, Oxfam is asking supporters to stay focused, energized, and ready to respond during these final stages of the Farm Bill fight.
“Our fight is not over,” said Liam Brody, director of Oxfam America’s Farm Bill campaign. “We will continue to campaign for reform as the House, Senate, and Bush Administration negotiate the final version of the Farm Bill early this year.”
As Oxfam’s Farm Bill campaign ramped up over the past several weeks, our supporters have responded in kind. Ten of thousands contacted their elected officials through a variety of means—from letters to the editor in local newspapers to holiday gift baskets delivered to local offices. They’ve made phone calls, sent letters and e-mails, and traveled to in-person meetings with their members of Congress and staff.
“No matter what happens, we have sowed powerful seeds that will yield important change in the years to come,” Brody said. “In this way, Oxfam and our supporters have forever changed the terms of the debate around the Farm Bill.”
