New U.S. Farm Bill improves nutrition funding, leaves concern about subsidies

Nutrition programs in the United States garnered a $10.3 billion increase in funding with passage of the 2008 Farm Bill.

Officially named the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, the legislation passed the House May 14 and the Senate May 15.

While President Bush threatened a veto of the bill because the subsidies to wealthy farmers were not decreased enough, the House and Senate were prepared at press time to override his veto. The bill is expected to become law by Memorial Day weekend.

Bush wanted all subsidy payments to be cut off for individuals making an adjusted gross income of more than $200,000. But the bill, which is good for five years, sets the limit at $750,000 for farm income and $500,000 for nonfarm income per person. The limits apply to one form of subsidy to farmers — direct payments based on land acreage, regardless of condition.

David Beckmann — president of Bread for the World, a national Christian anti-hunger organization — described the Farm Bill as "half a loaf."

"We rejoice that additional funding has been given to nutrition programs especially in light of the growing global hunger crisis that is hindering the efforts of struggling parents to feed their children," he said. "But we are missing the other half of the loaf -— substantial reform of the commodity programs.

"Congress has failed to make our commodity programs fairer and more equitable," Beckmann said. "The bill does little to target subsidies to where they are most needed but continues to concentrate payments to the largest and wealthiest landowners."

This policy hampers agricultural development in poor countries, he explained. It leaves millions of people mired in poverty and contributes to global hunger, he said.

Still "we celebrate the important and urgent increases in nutrition funding."

The Farm Bill, which is being reported by some as a $289 billion bill and by others as a $307 billion bill, mainly deals with domestic nutrition programs — about two-thirds of it. About one-third of the bill goes to farm-related expenses, and less than 1 percent goes to foreign food aid.

– $7.9 billion for food stamps (renamed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

– $1.25 billion for emergency food assistance through food banks.

– $1.05 billion for a fresh fruit and vegetable school snack program. (TAB)