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Politicking aplenty at 2007 Farmfest in Redwood County
The U.S. agriculture secretary, Minnesota's members of Congress and candidates had lots to say about the farm bill. Ag secretary and congressional ag committee members sparred over the new farm bill at Minnesota's top farm gathering.
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REDWOOD COUNTY, MINN. - The nation's top agricultural official came to Minnesota's premier farm gathering on Tuesday with what he said was good news about a new federal disaster declaration for drought-plagued Minnesota counties.
But before a standing-room-only crowd of farmers, their families and suppliers, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns did not deliver any good news on the topic they had come to hear about: the $250 billion farm bill that the administration has threatened to veto.
"I'll tell you without hesitation that the president wants to sign a farm bill," Johanns said during the kickoff forum of the state's annual three-day Farmfest near Redwood Falls in southwestern Minnesota "But he wants a farm bill that makes sense."
During the 90-minute session on the bill, Johanns used conciliatory words even as he stood fast by the administration's opposition to a handful of the massive bill's provisions. Sounding equally conciliatory were the four members of Minnesota's congressional delegation who sit on House and Senate agriculture committees -- even as they just as adamantly decried the veto threat.
"The administration and the Senate have the month of August to read our bill and see the wisdom of it," said Rep. Collin Peterson, the powerful committee chairman who brokered House passage late last month, shortly after sputtering "give me a break!" about one of the administration's objections.
Farmfest has become an obligatory stop for politicians with important rural constituencies, as important in some ways as the State Fair. Politicking is common. Two of Sen. Norm Coleman's potential Democratic challengers were roaming the grounds, as was at least one of the four Republicans who hope to take on freshman Rep. Tim Walz.
But dueling fireworks between members of Congress and the agriculture secretary made for unusual political theater.
The Bush veto threat has focused primarily on two provisions of the bill, which has not yet been taken up by the Senate. One would contain a means test, ending payments to farmers with more than $1 million in income, down from the current limit of $2.5 million. The White House has proposed a $200,000 cap.
The other disputed provision would close a so-called loophole that allows U.S. earnings of foreign-owned corporations to be taxed at a lower rate, generating $7.5 billion to help pay for other parts of the new farm bill.
"It just says let's tax these guys some more even though they provide American jobs," Johanns said. "It's not time to go kicking sand on another industry that creates jobs."
Walz bristled that calling it a tax increase "fires me up a little bit when the Treasury Department of this administration even calls it a loophole." He said it would help pay for nutrition programs that comprise the lion's share of the bill.
Peterson said leaving the loophole unchanged "gives foreign corporations a better deal than domestic corporations. Give me a break ... this is the right thing to do for the country."
Coleman, who said he doesn't expect the tax change to survive the Senate, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar generally praised the 2002 farm bill -- the foundation for the 2007 bill -- as good for Minnesota, which got them nodded agreement from the crowd.
The crowd's only enthusiastic response to Johanns came when he lambasted subsidies for millionaires. "We're sending farm bill payments to Park Avenue in New York City, to some of the ritziest neighborhoods in America," he said to wild applause. "You should be bothered by that."
Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184 • vonste@startribune.com
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