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 US Congress over-rides Bush's Farm Bill veto 

US Congress over-rides Bush's Farm Bill veto

26 May, 2008 09:54 AM
The United States Congress has moved quickly to repair a procedural error that threatened the new Farm Bill, but the final action on the complete package will have to wait until Congress returns to Washington from the Memorial Day recess.

But it appears that 14 titles of the Farm Bill became law when the Senate joined the House in overriding President George Bush's veto of the new Farm Bill, on Thursday afternoon.

Congress was thrown into disarray last Wednesday when it was discovered that the trade title was missing, and only 14 titles of the new Farm Bill, were sent for the President's signature.

That created a legal dilemma because the Bill that the President vetoed, and which the Congress overrode, was not the exact Bill as originally passed.

The error sent the Bill into uncharted waters.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, said the constitutionality of a vote on a Bill that was not whole was unclear, and he unsuccessfully urged a delay in Wednesday's override vote.

Late Wednesday evening, Democratic leaders decided the Bill could not be salvaged by re-instating the missing trade title.

It now appears the House will have to reassemble the original Farm Bill with the trade title included and hold a new vote in both the House and the Senate before again sending it to the White House.

Republican Roy Blunt, who unlike Boehner has supported the Farm Bill, told reporters the requirement for a re-vote is not an anti-Farm Bill position.

"If we're going to pass law, we must pass law that will stand any legal challenge," Blunt said.

"You don't want every conservation easement, every food bank distribution, every payment under the farm bill to be subject to any taxpayer going to court and saying 'this bill never passed Congress.' If you're going to have a Farm Bill, you have to have a Farm Bill that is unassailable in court."

Meanwhile, the Bill that was overridden by both the House and the Senate was deemed to become law following the Senate's override vote Thursday, according to Alise Kowalski, the press secretary for Republican Bob Goodlatte, the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, Democrat Tom Harkin, said the Senate would take up the correction of the missing trade title when Congress returns from the Memorial Day recess on June 2.

The President already has pledged to repeat his veto when the new Bill hits his desk, so both chambers will again vote to override.

The comfortable vote margins on last week's override ballots leave little doubt the President will again lose the veto.

With that the new Bill will simply replace the 14-title bill that went into effect on May 22, Kowalski explained.

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