The 2002 Farm Bill hasn’t even expired yet.

AP reports that the House approved an appropriations bill today:

The Milk Income Loss Contract program pays dairy farmers when milk prices fall below a specified level. The peanut storage program pays storage and handling fees as peanut farmers market their crop.

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., obtained a one-year extension of the peanut program during Appropriations Committee debate on the bill earlier this month. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., won a one-month extension of the MILC program.

I suppose we shouldn’t find it surprising that people who believe in an income cap for some enterprises also feel the right to establish a minimum income for farmers. We probably could have used that surplus expertise in other industries (I hear corn, sugar, and ethanol are big nowadays), but I suppose we’ll never know.

All told, the bill contains $94.5 billion, including funding for benefit programs such as food stamps.

(skipping…)

Debate grew testy as Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a vocal opponent of earmarks, offered a spate of amendments to strip out earmarks such as $726,000 to develop a marketing plan to showcase the greenhouse nursery of Ohio’s Maumee Valley and $180,000 for research on hydroponic tomato farming. Each amendment was defeated by margins exceeding 3-1 or by voice votes.

Looking at the roll call votes, Rep. Tiberi actually voted for six of the amendments. Maybe he wanted to look conservative where the votes didn’t matter, or maybe he thought they really were pork. Either way, good show, sir.

The legislation is H.R. 5384.

A section in the bill is titled, “OUTREACH FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS”. $6,930,000. That’s a lot of toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, and lessons in manners.

A Native American endowment fund gets $11.88 million. The Office of Civil Rights gets $22,650,000, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights gets $836 thousand. Racial discrimination is still good government business.

The Chief Economist gets a budget of $11,226,000. How economical is that? :)