Senator Clinton Decries Republican Efforts to Block Limit on Large Farm Subsidies in Farm Bill

Reducing the Cap on Commodity Payments to $250,000 is Important for Family Farms

December 13, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today voted in support of an amendment to the Farm Bill to more evenly distribute vital federal farm bill funds to smaller and medium sized farm operations in New York and around the country. The bipartisan measure, introduced by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), would have capped federal commodity subsidies at $250,000. Following defeat of the amendment, Senator Clinton vowed to continue to press for Senate approval of this critical measure.

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“Making our limited farm bill budget stretch further for rural communities should be our top priority. Targeting our commodity programs toward small and medium sized farmers instead of toward large agribusiness interests is an important step toward this goal,” said Senator Clinton. “Reducing the cap on commodity payments is critical for family farmers throughout rural America.”

The Dorgan-Grassley amendment would create over $1 billion in savings and redistribute those essential funds into priorities in conservation, nutrition and rural development programs. The concept was accepted by the U.S. Senate during the debate of the last farm bill in 2002. Senator Clinton has advocated such a reform to find more equitable ways to get federal dollars in the hands of those who depend on it as a larger portion of their financial safety net and to save funding in the farm bill for other important rural and agricultural initiatives like conservation and nutrition policy.

Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton