Harkin fails to get farm bill out of Senate

The Farm Bill is dead for the year, killed when republicans opposed a procedural vote in the U-S Senate which would have cut off debate and put the Farm Bill to a vote today. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a democrat who’s chairman of the Senate’s Ag Committee. He says “Today, farm families in Iowa and all our rural communities fell victim to a very partisan political game.” The Bush Administration urged the Senate to wait ’til next year to act on federal farm policy, and Republicans say there’s nothing negative in the delay as they’re ready to tackle the issue in January. Harkin says there’s something under the surface that’s causing partisanship among republicans and the White House.Harkin says the G-O-P may want a delay because they want to spend less on farm programs. He says the budget committee allowed 73-point-five billion dollars over ten years, but the administration has been balking at that number. Harkin says because of today’s setback, the Farm Bill may not get enacted ’til March or April. During debate today, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley criticized the American Farm Bureau for lining up in favor of the version of the Farm Bill Harkin and other democrats crafted.