By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Despite all the promises of frugality in Washington, the newest version of the farm bill passed by the House boasts a pricetag near $1 trillion and manages to send plenty of subsidies back to influential special interests in lawmakers' home states.
Sen. Carl Levin, a sixth-term Michigan Democrat and one of the Senate's longest serving and most influential members, said Thursday he won't see re-election in 2014.
While congressional leaders have reached a deal to avoid milk prices from skyrocketing in the coming weeks, the proposal was in limbo Tuesday as it was piggybacked onto the stalled measure intended to avoid the nation falling off the "fiscal cliff."
The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move that would head off a possible doubling of milk prices next month.
Rural lawmakers worry that $9 billion in annual federal crop insurance subsidies are an easy target for spending cuts in a "fiscal cliff" deal so they're shopping around for a late compromise on a farm bill to protect them.
President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner met at the White House on Sunday to try to jump-start the "fiscal cliff" negotiations as members of Congress teetered between calls for cooperation and jabs at the other side's failure to compromise.
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
A multiyear farm bill that has stalled in Congress could be part of a solution to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff" — if party leaders decide they need its spending cuts to count toward an overall deficit reduction package.
When Congress returns to work Tuesday for what is expected to be a hyperbusy lame-duck session, it will have more to worry about than just the looming "fiscal cliff," a series of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes scheduled to kick in at the end of the year.
When Congress decided to take over airport security, it was never about safety. That became clear on Friday when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners formally agreed to a contract that will add 45,000 dues-paying members to the ranks of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
Michigan voters handed organized labor a setback in Tuesday's voting, rejecting a closely-watched measure that would have enshrined union collective bargaining rights in the state constitution.
As Mitt Romney sank in the polls in September, so did the fortunes of many Republican Senate candidates, seemingly putting control of the upper chamber out of the party's reach.
As Congress bolts Washington this week for its pre-election recess, it will let lapse the massive federal farm bill, setting up a path for agricultural supports and subsidies to expire and return to a 1940s-era system — a scenario neither party nor the farm community is happy about.
Congress is poised to punt on yet another major legislative matter, as hope is drying up for a new farm bill ahead of an end-of-month deadline, increasing the likelihood the measure won't be done until after the November elections.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, said the bill will both help farmers and improve the economy.
Latest farm bill still plagued by million-dollar subsidies at taxpayer expense →
"Reforming agriculture programs will save taxpayers billions of dollars while helping Michigan farmers, ranchers and small businesses create jobs," she said.
Latest farm bill still plagued by million-dollar subsidies at taxpayer expense →
