Ron Kind votes with Washington, not Wisconsin
Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, voted to sustain President Bush's veto of the 2008 farm bill, offering another indication that he is more in tune with Washington than Westby.
At the same time that western Wisconsin farmers are being devastated by flooding that could well force them off land that their families have worked for generations, Kind took the side of Washington "think tanks" and a Texas "ranchette" owner against the position taken by the Wisconsin Farmers Union and other groups that are fighting to protect rural communities in this state.
There is no question that the new farm bill is flawed; in particular, it does not do enough to reform subsidy programs while maintaining a safety net for working farmers. But every farm bill ever approved by Congress has been flawed.
What distinguishes this farm bill are its positive aspects. It directs 73 percent of all spending to nutrition programs, which are essential in this moment of rising food prices, layoffs and recession. It also implements the long-delayed mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program, which is key to addressing growing concerns about food safety.
On a more parochial note, this bill is especially important for rural Wisconsin because -- as Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl have noted -- it begins to treat our state's dairy farmers fairly.
More important, in light of the recent flooding, is the fact that this farm bill sets up a disaster relief program. Disaster assistance would not otherwise have been available to the farmers and rural areas that have taken hard hits from recent storms and flooding. "We know that weather-related disasters occur every year, in all areas of the country," explains National Farmers Union President Tom Buis. "The farm bill's disaster program provides a safety net to aid those affected by severe weather. It's imperative that USDA move quickly to implement this program."
Buis is right. What is shocking is that Ron Kind, who sided with the Bush administration in seeking to block the disaster relief program, does not recognize that fact.
Kind
