President Bush to veto farm bill?

Criticizing Congress's "massive, bloated farm bill" that would support millionaire non-farmers, President Bush's comments from the Rose Garden Tuesday indicate that he will veto the package if changes aren't made.

Looking to offset the increased spending that would doom the bill, congressional negotiators on April 25 reduced the volumetric ethanol tax credit for a second time in the talks. Incentives for biodiesel and renewable diesel were removed entirely. Negotiations on the now-$280 billion bill are ongoing, with discussions focused on finding ways to compensate for the proposed $10 billion increase to the farm direct payments program.

A major breakthrough occurred late last week when senior lawmakers agreed on a $1.7 billion package of tax breaks, and ways to finance the overall package. The 51¢/gal tax credit for corn-based ethanol would drop to 45¢, which would save over $1 billion alone. But another $500 million would be netted out by a new $1.01/gal cellulosic tax credit, assuming of course, that any gets made.