The Farm Bill has been in the news this week. President Bush’s expect veto of the proposed bill came on Wednesday, followed quickly by the House’s 316-108 override on the same day. But as the bill moved to the Senate for their override vote, it was discovered that a 34-page section of the bill had been omitted from the original bill sent to President Bush.
The mistake means that both the House and the Senate will have to re-pass the revised Farm Bill, and that it will have to be sent on to President Bush again for his decision. The lawmakers will also have to pass another extension to the current Farm Bill, which is set to expire on Friday.
The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override President Bush’s veto of the $307 billion farm bill, just the second override in his presidency. The 316-to-108 House vote was far over the two-thirds needed to overcome a veto, meaning that the president’s criticism of the bill as bloated and wasteful won few, if any, converts.
In his veto announcement Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Bush said: “For a year and a half, I have consistently asked that the Congress pass a good farm bill that I can sign.” “Regrettably, the Congress has failed to do so. At a time of high food prices and record farm income, this bill lacks program reform and fiscal discipline.”
The Senate then was expected to follow suit quickly, but action stalled after the discovery that a 34-page section of the bill had been omitted from the printed bill sent to the White House. That means Bush vetoed a different bill from the one Congress passed, raising questions that the eventual law would be unconstitutional.
In order to avoid a partisan dustup, House Democrats hoped to pass the entire bill, again, on Thursday under expedited rules usually reserved for noncontroversial legislation, and the Senate was expected to follow suit. The correct version would then be sent to Bush under a new bill number for another expected veto.