McCain urges farm bill veto

Sen. John McCain, standing firmly behind President Bush, yesterday ripped the $290 billion farm bill as excessively wasteful — breaking from the majority of Capitol Hill Republicans who joined Democrats to make the legislation veto-proof.

“There is only one proper response — and that is a presidential veto,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said during a campaign speech in Chicago.

“That is exactly what I would do as president, regardless of the vote count. I would veto that bill, and all others like it that serve only the cause of special interests and corporate welfare.”

The legislation passed both congressional chambers last week by veto-proof majorities, aided by 100 House Republicans and 35 Senate Republicans, even though Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer called it “a bloated, earmark-laden bill.”

Mr. McCain said the measure epitomizes why so many members of both parties are disgusted with Washington.

Mr. McCain said the bill gives billions of dollars “to some of the biggest and richest agribusiness corporations in America — many of which are heavy political contributors to members in both parties.”

The Democratic National Committee defended the farm bill, saying Mr. McCain’s proposed veto would mean nutrition and food-stamp programs would be cut.

And Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Mr. McCain lacked credibility.

“It’s hard to take lectures on economic policy from Senator McCain, who has admitted he doesn’t understand economics, and who thinks the right way to fix our ailing economy is to embrace George Bush’s failed economic strategy,” she said, attacking the Republican’s support for Mr. Bush’s tax cuts.

Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat, has expressed support for the bill.

The bill includes earmarks such as $5 million for grants to broadcasting systems inserted by Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat, and $1 million for the National Sheep and Goat Industry Improvement Center, put into the bill by Sen. Max Baucus, Montana Democrat. In addition, there are tax breaks for Kentucky racehorse owners and additional aid for salmon fishermen in the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. McCain said the bill would cost “roughly $300 billion — I say ‘roughly’ because nobody is quite sure what the thing will cost, even the people who stuffed it with hundreds of pages of subsidies and tax breaks.”

About two-thirds of the bill would pay for nutrition programs, such as food stamps and emergency food aid for the needy. An additional $40 billion is for farm subsidies, while almost $30 billion would go to farmers to idle their land and to other environmental programs.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the measure passed the House that the bill “will drastically increase nutrition initiatives that will help 38 million American families put healthy food on their table.”

But Mr. McCain said the bill aids large commercial farms with “an average net worth of $2 million,” not small farms.

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