But Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said the bill marks a departure from the past: "This is a very good bill for agriculture. It signals a new direction, but also maintains the safety nets that are so crucial."
At a news conference Tuesday, where he and other committee members were flanked by dozens of representatives of the farm lobby, Peterson warned against attempts to change the bill. "Any element that is changed in this is going to make the whole thing tenuous," he said.
The $90-billion farm bill sets policy on conservation, energy, trade, forestry and farm subsidies every five years. Since its origins in the 1930s, the bill has been controlled by a handful of Midwestern lawmakers on the agriculture committees who steer subsidies and direct payments to their constituents who grow row crops: wheat, corn, cotton and soybeans. Backed by the farm lobby, these lawmakers have ensured that the bill's funding priorities have gone largely unchanged.
Currently, farmers with adjusted gross incomes of up to $2.5 million can receive subsidies. The Bush administration had proposed the limit be reduced to $200,000. But the bill, largely written by Democrats, would set a limit of $1 million.
"This is the biggest change we've had in payment limits ever," said Peterson. He said that "wheat, cotton and rice are not in support" of the change and that neither were many of his committee members. Nine of them are freshmen Democrats who defeated Republicans in rural districts. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have made protecting those Democrats a priority to ensure that they keep their seats.
In the past, Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) had supported similar measures introduced by Kind.
"We have pushed them beyond where they feel comfortable," Peterson said of the freshmen as he explained why he would oppose any move to further lower the cap on subsidy payments. "Their constituencies do not support what we have done." Advocates who expected Pelosi to push for deeper reform were frustrated.
"It's very disappointing that Pelosi is supporting a bill that doesn't go as far as the Bush administration's calls for reform," said Kari Hamerschlag, with the California Coalition for Food and Farming.
