Monday, May 19, 2008 | 2:09 a.m.
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A few weeks ago, when congressional Democrats were pushing to strip major oil companies of their tax subsidies, President Bush used the weight of his office to help defeat the measure.
His rock-solid position was that Exxon Mobil and its near-equivalents in the industry needed the tax breaks, even at a time when oil and gas prices had reached historic highs and were still rapidly increasing.
Yet the president is strident in his opposition to the farm bill. Why? Because part of it would go toward subsidies for farmers at a time when crop prices are reaching record levels.
Bush, whose family has been in the oil business for several generations, isn’t saying why he’s inconsistent here. But he is saying he will veto the farm bill, which passed both houses of Congress on Thursday by wide margins.
His veto wouldn’t likely succeed, however. The Senate passed the bill 81-15 and the House passed it 318-106. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the senior Republican on the Agriculture Committee, told The New York Times that Congress will override a veto.
Our own view is that the day must come when the decades-old tradition of automatically subsidizing even enormously profitable agribusinesses is ended. But we support this farm bill because, under Democratic leadership, reform has begun.
For example, subsidies will be significantly reduced for individual farmers earning $750,000 and married farmers earning $1.5 million, despite their rising fuel, labor and equipment costs. This will help ease valid criticism that “millionaire farmers” are taking advantage of a government program whose purpose is to stabilize food prices for consumers.
We also support the nearly $300 billion farm bill because fully two-thirds of it will go for food and nutrition programs for low-income Americans. The food stamp program will see a lift, as will community food banks — at a time when hunger in America is nearing a crisis.
Having seen its overwhelmingly bipartisan support in Congress, Bush should sign this bill.
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