Congress Passes Landmark Farm Bill
Congress gave final approval today March 29th, 1996 to the
Farm Bill. The House passed it 318-89 early today in a post-midnight session.
Speaker Newt Gingrich called it "the largest reform in the system in 60 years."
The bill went to the White House, and President Clinton is expected to
reluctantly sign the bill.
The legislation covers a wide range of issues, including environmental,
nutrition and specific crop and rural development. The bill will end federal
subsidies based on prices, and instead offers guaranteed but gradually
declining payments. The bill also ends the government's control over what
farmers can and cannot plant and on what fields they can cultivate.
Republicans generally feel that the new bill will allow farmers to make more
money and generate dynamic econmic renewal in rural America.
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