Comments on: “Those poor school kids didn’t hire the right lobbyist.” http://asecondhandconjecture.com/index.php/2008/05/06/those-poor-school-kids-didnt-hire-the-right-lobbyist/ Questions through the veil of ignorance Thu, 17 May 2012 04:17:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: MichaelW http://asecondhandconjecture.com/index.php/2008/05/06/those-poor-school-kids-didnt-hire-the-right-lobbyist/comment-page-1/#comment-203813 MichaelW Wed, 07 May 2008 14:22:50 +0000 http://asecondhandconjecture.com/?p=2902#comment-203813 <p>It's hard to tell from the WaPo article, but it appears that the money for those kids will simply be coming through a different appropriation:</p> <blockquote> <p>President Bush last week asked Congress to approve $770 million in new global food aid in the coming fiscal year in response to the spreading crisis. House Democratic leaders may increase that amount and may require that some of the aid be dispensed more quickly.</p> <p>[...]</p> <p>House lawmakers blamed the Senate. "There was no support for it there. We ran into a brick wall," said <a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/d000216/" rel="nofollow">Rep. Rosa DeLauro</a> (D-Conn.), one of those representing the House in the talks.</p> <p>Agriculture Committee Chairman <a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/h000206/" rel="nofollow">Tom Harkin</a> (D-Iowa), leader of the Senate team, responded that because nutrition dollars were limited, "we applied most of the funds to assistance for U.S. families and children, with the expectation that foreign food assistance would continue to be funded primarily through annual appropriations bills, as has long been done."</p> </blockquote> <p>I could be wrong, but I think that only $40 Million was carved from the Farm Bill and will have to be accounted for elsewhere.</p> <p>I'm not much of a fan of either subsidies or foreign aid, but I think one could show that the ridiculous subsidies paid to American farmers (read "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_Daniels_Midland" rel="nofollow">ADM</a>") are closely connected to the reason why foreign aid in the form of food for children is even necessary.</p> It’s hard to tell from the WaPo article, but it appears that the money for those kids will simply be coming through a different appropriation:

President Bush last week asked Congress to approve $770 million in new global food aid in the coming fiscal year in response to the spreading crisis. House Democratic leaders may increase that amount and may require that some of the aid be dispensed more quickly.

[...]

House lawmakers blamed the Senate. “There was no support for it there. We ran into a brick wall,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), one of those representing the House in the talks.

Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), leader of the Senate team, responded that because nutrition dollars were limited, “we applied most of the funds to assistance for U.S. families and children, with the expectation that foreign food assistance would continue to be funded primarily through annual appropriations bills, as has long been done.”

I could be wrong, but I think that only $40 Million was carved from the Farm Bill and will have to be accounted for elsewhere.

I’m not much of a fan of either subsidies or foreign aid, but I think one could show that the ridiculous subsidies paid to American farmers (read “ADM“) are closely connected to the reason why foreign aid in the form of food for children is even necessary.

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