Mr. De Santiago (And Mr. Dollins (RNC)) Submits:

A BILL
To support free market principles in agriculture by eliminating Tax breaks and subsidies granted to Agricultural companies.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Freedom in Agriculture Act .

SEC. 2. ACTION

1.No money may be awarded to agricultural companies or corporations for the growth, non-growth, or productivity of a crop

2. No money shall be awarded to agricultural companies or corporations for the purchase of equipment used by the company

3. No money may be loaned or otherwise given to any agricultural company for the production of produce sold in the private sector.

SEC. 3 ENACTING

1. This bill shall take effect immediately after passage

2. All previously existing contracts and arrangements involving the above money transactions are declared void, and payments shall cease.

I'm here. Ask away

Basically, what is it that your bill does. What do you expect it to do, that sort of thing.

This post has been edited by Carat on Nov 26 2004, 11:58 PM

Mr Santiago,
I do not personally belive in the blind allegiance to any philosophy. I believe for example that total deregulation in certain markets would make for disastrous results for ordinary Americans. Communications and the auto industry would be 2 such examples.

I have not belived however that subsisides of agricutlure were ever good things, and while I am not disinclined to your bill I do have some questions:

As I read the bill, this would wipe out I have no idea how many billions of dollars in agriculture imediately. How do you comment on:

1) The lack of lead time for industry prearation for what seems intutitively to be a change of epic proportion?
2) The impact on total farm acerage and production levels after the bill takes effect?
3) The composition of the industry after effective date?. i.e., family farms vs. agribusines vs. partnerships and smaller corporations etc?
4) How much federal money is involved here?

I yield

This post has been edited by tompea on Nov 27 2004, 01:16 AM

Madame Chair,

I would like to commend the sponsors of this bill for introducing free market principles into the agricultural sector. Subsidy is just a major threat to free competion as monopoly is and should be rooted out.

I view this act as extending the principles of the now famous Tobacco Quota Elimination bill which sought to get the state out of the tobacco industry altogether. I will say however that the latter bill recognised one very limited example of state help: that for small farmers trying to get out of the tobacco growing business. Apart from such limited and isolated cases, the state should get out of a business it has no right to be in in the first place.

I yield.

Madame Chair,

The tax breaks and subsidies which go towards agriculture never go towards small family farms, but instead big corporate farms. This practice has been a chief contributor to the destruction of small family farms.

By ending these tax breaks and subsidies, we create more of a free market and allow small time farmers to once again have a chance without large corporate farm operations actually being helped in their destruction of small farming.

That�s one issue here. The other issue is that these commercial subsidies are a bad principle all together, as is the case with most subsidies and forms of corporate welfare. In this day where we face a record deficit, we must look for ways to cut these subsidies that drain our budget and aide in further plunging us into deficit.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman,

The gentleman from Connecticut brings up some important questions.

I have another question for the author of the bill.

It is my understanding after reading this piece of legislation that this bill eliminates federal subsidies for just agricultural companies and corporations. Would family farm and ranch corporations be exempt from this? Would they still receive federal subsidies? Or does this bill eliminate all federal subsidies for agriculture regardless of the farmer(s)?

If the gentleman cannot make himself available to answer my questions and the questions from the gentleman from Connecticut, I cannot vote AYE for this bill.

I yield.

Madame Chair,
I fully concur with the closing statements of the gentleman from Nebraska. The absence of any of the authors here not only leaves us without information, but is a comment on the degree of commitment they bring to their own bill.

I would be disappointed, and also unable to vote aye.

I yield