The undersigned organizations have long advocated reform of our crop subsidy system.  Now, with added federal expenditures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, it is more important than ever to eliminate unnecessary expenditures and wasteful programs. Reform of our agriculture policies would provide much needed savings to offset the costly Gulf Cost reconstruction and disaster relief effort.

We urge you to support farm subsidy payment limits and the elimination of the “Step 2” cotton program that will further the vital task of deficit reduction and help move the agriculture sector in a more economically efficient and taxpayer-friendly direction.

Costing more than $20 billion in some years, our current web of farm subsidies wastes taxpayer dollars, invites retaliatory tariffs on American exports, encourages the production of huge crop surpluses that lower world crop prices, and threatens to impede successful global trade negotiations.

We urge you to strongly support all efforts to adopt payment limits, and to cut the “Step 2” cotton program. Implementing the proposed subsidy limits and eliminating “Step 2” would go a long way toward bringing our farm subsidies into compliance with our trade agreements and limiting the flow of federal funds to large, successful producers.

There can be no question that reducing agriculture subsidies is among taxpayers’ top priorities for spending reduction both in the immediate future and in years to come. Thus, we look forward to working with you on this and other agriculture-related issues and are more than happy to provide ideas for reducing the heavy burden these programs place on taxpayers.

Sincerely,

Thomas Schatz
President
Council for Citizens
Against Government Waste

John Berthoud
President
National Taxpayers Union

Andy Roth
Director of Government Affairs
Club for Growth