In an era of bulging deficits, there is one area of the federal budget—farm policy—that's actually coming in well below projections, according to new Congressional Budget Office figures analyzed by Farm Policy Facts.
Relative to budget projections made in 2002, farm policy in the 2002 and 2008 farm bills has saved taxpayers more than $30 billion. In fact, actual farm safety net spending has come in under the projected budget in seven of the last eight years.
Two top-level trade officials in the Obama administration recently told Congress what they thought of the trade deal currently on the table at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Senators liked what they heard.
"No deal is better than a bad deal" was the common refrain during the Senate Finance Committee's nomination hearing held earlier this month for America's WTO Ambassador nominee Michael Punke and Islam Siddiqui, who is vying for job of the U.S. Trade Representative's chief agricultural negotiator.
It's an odd thing—on one hand Uncle Sam is looking for ways to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to spur jobs creation and economic recovery while on the other hand Washington is proposing a plan that I fear will destabilize crop insurance that we farmers need, lenders require, and billions of dollars in economic activity and thousands of American jobs depend upon.
It's also troubling that, once again, Washington's policies come at the expense of rural America.
Two top-level trade officials in the Obama administration recently told Congress what they thought of the trade deal currently on the table at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Senators liked what they heard.
It's an odd thing—on one hand Uncle Sam is looking for ways to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to spur jobs creation and economic recovery while on the other hand Washington is proposing a plan that I fear will destabilize crop insurance that we farmers need, lenders require, and billions of dollars in economic activity and thousands of American jobs depend upon.
