A vote to end debate on the 2007 Farm Bill, allowing the full US Senate to vote on the legislation, fell six votes short earlier this month (read the Washington Post article here). Further action on the senate floor may take place in December, although possibly not until the new year.
Albeit frustrating, the stall is not a defeat for those seeking a fairer Farm Bill. Indeed, calls for reform – more intense than any ever before – may be partially responsible. In a statement on the delay, Oxfam America's Farm Bill campaign director said "The US Senate still has a chance to do something special with this Farm Bill.... It can either promote real reform – or continue propping up a broken system."
While the senate is at loggerheads, use the opportunity to take additional action. Call Senators Coleman and Klobuchar; ask that they support the Grassley-Dorgan and FRESH amendments. These amendments insure the legislation they eventually vote on is not, as the Saint Paul Pioneer Press put it, "a market-distorting, status-quo-favoring, deceptively-accounted-for farm bill..."
More Farm Bill news:
Agence France-Presse, Brazil, Canada renew WTO complaints on US farm subsidies
Orlando Sentinel, Ditch the boondoggle
The Politicio, Africans join lobby for lower farm subsidies
News Hour, Farm Bill Plays a Pivotal Role in U.S. Food Production
