Give Harris credit for plowing under farm bill

Rep. Andy Harris deserves credit for standing up for taxpayers by voting no on the farm bill that recently failed in the U.S. House of Representatives (“Not just conservatives hated failed farm bill,” May 21). Taxpayers should be grateful for Representative Harris’ leadership on reigning in wasteful spending within the agriculture safety net. His no vote demonstrates that Maryland’s 1st District congressman will stand with taxpayers and against Washington special interests.

Prior to 2014, a farm bill had never failed to pass the House Floor. Now, it’s happened twice in five years. Business-asusual farm bills are no longer an option.

It’s time all communities and all corners of the agriculture sector are heard, rather than simply those with the best lobbyists. Proposals to reform both corporate and individual welfare programs authorized by the farm bill must be won or lost on their merits instead of being scuttled by leadership behind closed doors and without a vote.

Failure to pass the status-quo farm bill provides Congress a rare do-over. They should take this opportunity to write and actually debate a farm bill that is costeffective, transparent, responsive to need, and most importantly, accountable to taxpayers footing the bill. With $21 trillion in debt, our nation can afford nothing less.