April 4

Michelle Perez, Environmental Working Group (EWG), Environmental Policy Ph.D. Program (University of Maryland School of Public Policy)

"Reflections on the Politics of Farm Bill Policy"

Michelle Perez joined the Environmental Working Group in the fall of 2006 as Senior Analyst for the farm and environmental policy team. Michelle will share insights into the making of the 2007/8 Farm Bill from the perspective of one of the leading reform organizations (EWG maintains the online, searchable Farm Subsidies Database and the Farm Bill 2007 Policy Analysis
Database) and as a member of the Left-Right Coalition of Reformer Groups and the Conservation Coalition. As an omnibus spending bill, the Farm Bill feeds the 26 million poor Americans via Food Stamps, shares the cost of environmental solutions on the farm, and subsidizes two-thirds of the nation's 2 million farmers with commodity cropland. Given such diverse feeders at the trough, Farm Bill re-authorization, every five years or so, represents the best and worst of interest group and party politics. From the reformer's perspective, the 2007 (now 2008) Farm Bill is an example of how facts, trade disputes, public opinion, editorial boards, diverse coalitions, the Bush Administration, and God are no match for the commodity subsidy lobby (and the Democratic Party).

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