Colorado legislators key in drafting farm bill, urge Bush's approval

Andrew Villegas, (Bio) avillegas@greeleytribune.com
May 9, 2008

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Negotiators in the U.S. Congress announced their final agreement Thursday on a $300 million farm bill, and as the White House and other conservatives announce their opposition, key Colorado lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are urging its approval.

Both Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., were involved in negotiating the final details of the legislation that would stop the government from giving subsidies to crop farmers making more than $750,000 per year from farm income.

President George Bush has said he will veto any bill with such a dollar figure because he considers the $750,000 cap too generous to rich farmers, and he would like to see it lowered. The Bush administration initially proposed a cap for people making more than $200,000 in annual gross income, but said it could accept a limit of $500,000.

Under the drafted bill, people who make more than $500,000 from nonfarm income also would be ineligible for subsidies. The current limit is $2.5 million.

Musgrave sent Bush a letter Thursday afternoon asking him to sign the bill. Though she said in a release that the bill is less than perfect, Musgrave said in the letter that the bill provides important funding to food banks and creates incentives for farmers who conserve resources while investing in renewable energy.

Salazar, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee who has previously said he was in favor of lowering the cap on income for farmers who receive crop subsidies, also is in favor of the bill because of its ramifications on renewable energy production and making safe food available to families.

Salazar also said previously that he thinks the Senate has the votes to override a presidential veto, but that he wasn't sure about the same for the House, where members were meeting Thursday to coordinate a House override strategy.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.