Congress Overrides Veto of Farm Bill (Some Trade Provisions Not Yet Law Due to Error)
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have overridden President Bush's veto of H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill).
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Most of Farm Bill's Trade Provisions Have Been Enacted into Law
As a result of the House and Senate override of President Bush's veto of H.R. 2419, most of the Farm Bill's trade provisions have been enacted into law, including provisions on (partial list):
a two-year extension of U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA)
the "first sale" rule
unused merchandise drawback for wine
Haitian HOPE II
ethyl alcohol, including duty drawback
the import quota program for upland cotton
sugar
dairy exports
declarations for imported plants
the identification of honey
catfish
the country of origin labeling for beef, lamb, pork, goat, chicken, wild fish, macadamia nuts, ginseng, and pecans
a trichinae certification program for exports
the importation of live dogs for resale
an extension of Customs user fees and MPFs
Some Farm Bill Trade Provisions Not Yet Enacted Due to Error
According to a House Agriculture Committee press release and Committee sources, one of the titles of the conference version of H.R. 2419, Title III (Trade), was inadvertently omitted from the enrolled bill that was vetoed by the President. As a result, only 14 of the 15 Farm Bill titles are enacted into law. The trade-related provisions in the omitted title include:
softwood lumber importer declaration program
GSM-102 Export Credit Guarantees
market access for organics
repeal of export enhancement program
imported agricultural products and child labor
House Acts to Ensure Entire Farm Bill is Enacted
The press release and other Congressional documents note that on May 22, 2008, the House took action to correct this clerical error and enact the entire Farm Bill by passing all 15 titles of the Farm Bill under a new bill number (H.R. 6124).
It is not known when the Senatewill take such action.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/19/08 news, 08051905, for BP summary of the conference version of H.R. 2419.)
House Agriculture Committee press release (dated 05/22/08) available at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/agriculture_dem/pr_052208_VetoOverride.html.
House Agriculture Committee's Farm Bill page available at http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/FarmBill.html.
Conference report available at http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/110_hr2419_confrpt.pdf
Joint explanatory statement of the Conference Committee available at http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/110_hr2419_jes.pdf