Free-market groups oppose lame duck consideration of $1 trillion Farm Bill
WASHINGTON (Nov. 13, 2012) -– As federal lawmakers prepare for a seven-week lame duck session of Congress, the R Street Institute and a coalition of 13 other conservative, libertarian, free-market and taxpayer groups urge that the five-year Farm Bill, estimated to cost nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, be kept off the agenda.
In an open letter to members of the U.S. House, the coalition also recommends that any extension of current law should abolish the $5 billion-a-year direct payments program, which was wisely targeted for elimination in versions of the Farm Bill passed by both the U.S. Senate and the House Agriculture Committee.
“A five-year bill will have sweeping fiscal, social, and environmental impacts and should be the result of careful and transparent deliberation,” the groups wrote. “In our view, this Congress simply does not have the time to undertake such legislation this year.”
In addition to R Street, other signatories include Taxpayers for Common Sense, American Commitment, Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, the Center for Individual Freedom, the Club for Growth, the Cost of Government Center, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Heritage Action for America, the National Taxpayers Union and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
To read the full letter, visit: http://redesign.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/L12-11-13-No-Farm-Bill-in-Lame-Duck.pdf
