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CCAGW DECLARES VICTORY
ON
FARM BILL, AT LEAST
FOR THIS YEAR
Washington, D.C. - The Council for Citizens Against
Government Waste (CCAGW) today declared victory when the Senate
again failed to invoke cloture on S. 1731, the Agriculture,
Conservation and Rural Enhancement Act of 2001.
"CCAGW applauds the senators who
repeatedly voted against invoking cloture on this abomination of a
farm bill," CCAGW President Tom Schatz said. "These pro-taxpayer
senators deserve great credit for standing up to threats of
political retaliation from the special interests. Their votes will
save taxpayers billions of dollars over the next ten years, plus
result in a much saner, market-oriented agriculture policy."
"The farm bill, which does not
expire until September of 2002, should never have been considered
this year in the first place," Schatz added. "But, the rush to
consider it this year was all about the money ¾ an attempt to lock in a 65 percent
increase in agriculture subsidies before taxpayers became aware of
what was going on and there was a general recognition that such
funds were neither available nor justified."
"CCAGW hopes the Senate Democratic
leadership will recognize that the right thing to do is to send the
farm bill back to the Senate Agriculture Committee for thorough
reworking," Schatz concluded. "We can only hope next year they will
pass a bill that doesn't gouge taxpayers or encourage
overproduction, and that will direct assistance to farmers who need
it most rather than to a small group of agriculture corporations and
large-scale farms."
CCAGW is the lobbying arm of
Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest taxpayer
advocacy group with over one million members and supporters
nationwide. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to
eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in
government.
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