Washington, DC – United States Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the first Ohioan to sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee in four decades, today called President George W. Bush’s second veto of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008—also known as the Farm Bill—a continuation of failed policies that have hurt middle class families and destroyed communities.

The president first vetoed the Farm Bill on June 5. The Senate overrode that veto but a parliamentary glitch sent the bill back to the president’s desk a second time.

“Betraying Ohio farmers once is bad enough. Doing it twice is just plain shameful,” Brown said. “The president and his allies in Congress are out of touch with the needs of farmers and families across Ohio and the country. His veto is moot, but a disgrace all the same.”

Within hours of the president’s second Farm Bill veto, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to override.

“The Farm Bill supports Ohio farmers and invests in rural communities. It funds infrastructure in rural areas, provides new incentives to protect our natural resources, develops local markets for family farmers, helps struggling families put food on the table, and promotes healthy diets.”

“I am especially proud to have worked with Ohio farmers to develop the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE), one the most significant reforms to farm programs in decades,” Brown said. “ACRE offers a much needed choice to farmers. Farmers can either stick with the current programs that do little to protect against drops in revenue and low yields, or switch to a forward-looking policy that better protects against volatile crop prices, natural disasters, and rising production costs. This is true reform for farmers and taxpayers.”

“This bill also includes much needed funding for our nation’s food banks. Food banks across the state are running out of supplies, and that puts Ohio families and children at risk. I am proud to announce that this bill provides $50 million in immediate emergency funding for food banks and doubles funding for food banks over the next 5 years.”

Brown helped to secure six major provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill. The legislation would strengthen Ohio agriculture by improving the farm safety-net, supporting rural communities, promoting renewable energy, improving nutrition programs and encouraging healthy diets, and protecting natural resources. Those provisions are outlined below:

Reforming Farm Programs to Better Protect Ohio Farmers
Drawing on ideas Ohio farmers shared with Brown during his statewide farm tour, the 2008 Farm Bill includes reforms to farm safety-net programs, most notably the addition of Brown’s Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program. This program allow farmers to choose between traditional farm programs and a new program that protects against drops in yield or prices – critical for farmers given the uncertain and volatile farm economy. In addition to providing better protection for farmers, ACRE will save taxpayer dollars.

Investing in Rural Communities
Rural communities are a major focus of the bill. As the backbone of Ohio, these communities suffer from failing infrastructure and the scarcity of good-paying jobs. This legislation expands rural development programs by providing:
· $120 million for loans and grants to boost water and wastewater infrastructure;
· $15 million for the Rural Microenterprise Assistance program, which provides technical assistance and small loans to beginning entrepreneurs to help start businesses in rural areas; and
· Expanded authority and easy application requirements for rural broadband access.

Encouraging Farm-Based Renewable Energy
Farm-based, renewable energy programs that promote sustainable energy production will greatly benefit rural communities in Ohio. The 2008 Farm Bill increases incentives for on-farm production of renewable energy, promoting next generation cellulosic ethanol by helping farmers produce biomass crops, providing grants and loan guarantees to support new biorefineries, and increasing bioenergy research.

Increasing Benefit Levels for Food and Nutrition Programs
In Ohio, the Food Stamp Program provides more than one million people with food assistance, and more than half are children. It is a critical part of the country’s hunger safety net, but its purchasing power has eroded. The 2008 Farm Bill increases funding for nutrition programs by more than $10 billion, including:

* Increasing the minimum benefit from $10 to $14 and indexing that level to inflation;
* Indexing the standard deduction to inflation to address the erosion of benefit levels;
* Allowing for full deduction of child-care expenses from gross income. The current deduction is $175, although the national average monthly child care expense is $631 per month; and
* Increasing mandatory funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), used primarily by food banks, from $140 million annually to $250 million annually. In addition, $50 million is provided in emergency relief for food banks facing shortages.


Increasing Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables
Increasing the availability of healthy and fresh foods in schools and underserved communities can improve overall health while helping local farmers develop profitable new markets. Brown introduced the Food Outreach and Opportunity Development (FOOD) for a Healthy America Act in May of 2007 with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to help deliver fresh food from farms to underserved communities. The 2008 Farm Bill incorporates many of these ideas, including:

* Improves child nutrition by providing $1 billion over ten years for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack program. Estimates are that more than 130,000 low-income elementary students in Ohio would gain access to free fruits and vegetables at school;
* Creates a new Healthy Food Enterprise Development Center with $3 million in mandatory funding to connect local farmers to communities that need access to affordable, healthy food;
* Expands the Farmers’ Markets Promotion Program by providing $33 million over the next five years to continue our investment in promoting fresh, local foods; and
* Authorizes the National School Lunch Program to purchase locally produced food for school meals.


Improving and Expanding Critical Conservation Programs
Good farming practices help sustain clean water and air, reduce soil erosion, restore wetlands, and protect wildlife habitat. However, many farmers have been turned away from federal conservation programs due to a lack of funding for these programs. The 2008 Farm Bill improves and expands on several conservation programs, including:

* Increasing funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program by $3.4 billion over the next 10 years;
* Rewarding farmers for environmental stewardship by expanding the Conservation Security Program which will enroll an additional 13 million acres each year; and
* Increasing funding for the farmland protection program and making it more flexible for farmers to stem the loss of 40,000 acres each year in Ohio to development.