White House says "veto will be soon" of farm bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will soon veto the $289 billion U.S. farm bill, a White House spokesman said Wednesday, despite signs Congress will override the veto to enact the bill into law.
Congress formally delivered the bill to the White House on Tuesday.
"The veto will be soon," said spokesman Scott Stanzel.
The five-year bill would boost nutrition, land stewardship and biofuels programs. Bush says it fails to reform subsidies to multimillionaire farmers at a time of high farm income and rising grocery prices.
Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say they have the votes for an override, which could be completed this week. A stopgap extension of some Agriculture Department programs expires on Friday, adding to the impetus for action.
To carry out an override, each chamber must call a new vote and pass the bill by a two-thirds majority. The House passed the farm bill 318-106 and the Senate vote was 81-15 last week.
The omnibus farm bill is nearly eight months overdue.
It raises subsidy rates for wheat and soybeans and would deny one type of farm subsidy to the wealthiest Americans.
Alongside traditional subsidies, the bill creates an optional "revenue protection" program for grain, cotton and oilseed farmers that the administration says could cost billions of dollars.
(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Walter Bagley)
