SUNUNU UNDERSCORES OPPOSITION TO FARM BILL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                          CONTACT: BARBARA RILEY

6/5/08                                                          202-224-2841

                                                                LIZ CHAMBERLAIN

                                                                603-430-9560

SUNUNU UNDERSCORES OPPOSITION TO FARM BILL

 AS SENATE TAKES UP MEASURE A SECOND TIME

WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) today (6/5) underscored his opposition to the Farm Bill by voting against the legislation when it came to the Senate floor again Thursday night.

Sununu, who opposed the original legislation on May 15, highlighted billions of dollars of taxpayer giveaways to special interests in the bill and said it represented bad economic policy that taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for. The House and Senate considered the bill a second time to address a technical correction in the measure.

“The Farm Bill contains funding for a number of important programs, including nutrition and land conservation, but leaves massive subsidies in place even as food prices soar. It allows farmers earning millions to continue to receive subsidies, props up prices for many commodities, and breaks the budget,” said Sununu. “At a time when farms are experiencing record profit, there is absolutely no reason to provide price supports for sugar and extend the ethanol tariff. The bill is a continuation of bad economic policy that taxpayers in New Hampshire and across the country do not deserve. That is why I voted against it a number of times before and have supported reforms designed to remove subsidies while encouraging conservation.”

        “The Farm Act” (HR 6124) authorizes funding for the United States Department of Agriculture for five years and passed 77 – 15.

Editor’s Note: Additional information on Senator Sununu’s record on the Farm Bill can be found in the columns section of his web site at www.sununu.senate.gov.