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Klobuchar Fights for Reform in 2007 Farm Bill

Klobuchar Proposal Wins Majority Vote

December 13, 2007

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s groundbreaking proposal to reform federal farm subsidies won 48 votes Thursday, a majority of the Senators voting, as the U.S. Senate moved forward on the 2007 Farm Bill. However, Senate rules required 60 votes for the amendment to become part of the larger farm bill, so the amendment was not adopted. The final vote was 48-47.

“I knew this would be an uphill struggle,” Klobuchar said, “but it was worth the effort to make sure that we are spending the public’s money wisely and that federal support is going to the nation’s hardworking farmers and not to urban millionaires, and I will continue to fight to for reform when the bill goes to a conference committee with the House.”

Klobuchar’s amendment would have placed an income cap of $750,000, after expenses, on fulltime farmers to be eligible for commodity payments. For part-time farmers, the income cap would have been $250,000 after expenses. The average net income of Minnesota farmers today is $54,000.

Klobuchar’s amendment was just one of two subsidy-reform amendments to earn a floor vote in Senate action on the 2007 Farm Bill. It was co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, also spoke in support of the broader farm bill, which is expected to pass the Senate (TBD). The bill contains Klobuchar’s provisions to encourage production of cellulosic ethanol and the next generation of renewable biofuels, in addition to a strong safety net for farmers, important conservation and nutrition provisions and a new, efficient approach to permanent disaster relief for farmers.

“This bill provides crucial support for Minnesota – one of the nation’s top farm producers – while moving us forward toward a new generation of farm-based energy that will continue to strengthen rural economies and ease our dependence on foreign oil,” Klobuchar said.

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