OPPOSE ANY EXTENSION OF WASTEFUL & OUT-DATED DIRECT PAYMENTS

Vote No on Farm Bill Extension & Continued Direct Payments

Dear Colleague, As the House prepares to take up a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill, I urge you to oppose any extension of wasteful and out-dated direct payments. I thought it helpful to highlight a number of the facts. Fact: Direct Payments are Wasteful & Out-dated. A roughly $5 billion annual taxpayer giveaway, direct payments go to land owners with land that historically produced select commodities. These fixed direct payments are not tied to current production or prices and do not require any current commodity production. This means individuals receiving billions in taxpayer subsidies whether they farm or not, whether prices were high or low, or whether yields were great or poor. T Fact: Direct Payments Lack Support. Given historic deficits and mountainous national debt, there is widespread and bipartisan consensus that direct payments are an appropriate target for elimination. In fact, neither the Senate Agriculture Committees nor the House Agriculture Committees 2012 Farm Bill proposals advocated extending direct payments. Yet, the pending year-long extension of Farm Bill programs would extend these wasteful payments for another year. Fact: Direct Payments are Controversial. Created in the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, direct payments were originally a temporary handout to farmers. Direct payments have been the focus of ridicule over wasteful farm subsidy programs, with stories surfacing about taxpayer handouts going to celebrity millionaires and Fortune 500 companies. In 2006, the Washington Post also reported on $1.3 billion in direct payments since 2000 going to people who do no farming whatsoever. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing a one-year farm bill extension that allows billions of taxpayer dollars to be spent on yet another year of wasteful direct payments that few support. Sincerely,

JEFF FLAKE Member of Congress