1,054 farm groups urge override of farm bill veto

Any doubts that farm organizations supported the 2008 farm bill conference report were laid aside Wednesday when more than 1,000 of them sent a letter to the House and Senate urging them to override the president’s veto.

The groups, led by the National Farmers Union, also mounted a massive telephone and e-mail campaign that left no doubt where the majority of the nation’s farmers stood on the conference report, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. The House subsequently voted to override the veto by a vote of 318-106.

Because of a mistake in the enrollment process, the House was scheduled to vote on the bill again later today and on the bill’s Trade and Food Aid Title, which was inadvertently omitted from the bill sent to the president on May 20.