McCain tells Iowans he would veto farm bill over subsidies
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some things never change: Republican John McCain dislikes farm subsidies.
"I have to give you a little straight talk about the farm bill that is wending its way through Congress," McCain said Thursday at the Polk County Convention Center.
"I do not support it. I would veto it," he said. "I would do that because I believe that the subsidies are unnecessary."
McCain was in the heart of farm country, a place where subsidies for corn and ethanol fuel are wildly popular.
His long-held position against subsidies has cost him in Iowa, the state that traditionally begins the presidential nominating process. Yet the Arizona senator didn't hesitate to bring up the issue.
"I just thought I'd start out with that non-controversial statement," he said as he began the town hall-style meeting.
Congress, struggling to finish a farm bill that can survive a threatened veto, passed another extension and sent it to President Bush, who, like McCain, says it is bloated with subsidies for wealthy farmers. The nearly $300 billion bill would pay for farm and nutrition programs for the next five years.
Negotiators on the bill agreed to cut an ethanol tax credit previously considered off-limits because of its popularity in Iowa. And they cut $1 billion in support for blending ethanol, bringing the per-gallon credit from 51 cents to 45 cents.
McCain did take a break from the straight talking for a little pandering.
"The farmer in the state of Iowa in the United States of America is the most productive, the most efficient and the best," he said. "And I will open every market in the world to your products, and I will sell them, and I can compete."
