According to U.S. House Representative Marilyn Musgrave's (CO-4) website, she plans to lead the fight to override President Bush's veto of the the recent Farm Bill. The bill passed, but there appears to be a technical issue that will require a new vote by both the House and the Senate, then another override by both Chambers.
Rep. Musgrave champions the provisions for food stamps and food banks.
There will be many more people will be eligible for food stamps, and I think that’s a very positive thing. I’m proud of the work we did for food banks.
What Rep. Musgrave doesn't address is the problem that's created by getting people dependent on government handouts. Charity should be done by the local community through charitable organizations, not by the federal government.
Rep. Musgrave also champions the farm provisions of the bill.
In the 4th Congressional District, we are poised to be leaders in the nation in renewable energy, and while we’ve had record prices recently, we just came out of a horrific drought. This is the safety net for rural America that we talk about. I’m glad that we have this done.
Renewable Energy is the latest buzzword for turning food into fuel. There have been many stories written recently about the dramatic increase in the cost of basic food staples, and it is largely due to the fact that so many farmers are now growing corn that other crops are in short supply. When supply goes down and demand remains the same, prices go up.
Musgrave, a self-proclaimed conservative, should understand this basic concept. Add to this the fact that the government continues to pay farmers to not grow crops in their field. This just exacerbates the problem by reducing the supply even further. Since food and fuel are basic commodities used by most everyone, it hits the poor even harder. But that's ok, because they'll get more food stamps now.
The bill does, however, contain tax breaks for the rich. Farmers who make up to $750,000 are eligible for the subsidies. I guess all that blustering by the Democrats about opposing tax cuts for the rich only applies when the Republicans are doing it.
The we've already been doing it defense seems to be the excuse for supporting the bill. Rep. Musgrave says,
For people to get on their high horse now after they’ve been spending and spending is amazing to me.
Apparently this bill represents a drop in the federal budget compared with the previous bill. I don't think I want to look up how much the previous one cost us. The fact is, the Republican-led congress spent money for six years like they were printing it...umm, yeah. The Democrat-led congress has picked up where they left off, which leaves us with a massive budget deficit and an ever decreasing dollar.
Finding a true conservative in Congress these days is like finding a farm growing anything other than corn...or Renewable Energy as it is now called.
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