Congressional Quarterly published an interesting assessment of the legislative hurdles faced by would-be reformers of the U.S. Farm Bill (HR 2419) on Friday. This excerpt from the article paints the picture:

“There are 42 new freshmen in the House this year – including many with rural constituencies – and nine sit on the farm panel. That means leadership will have to weigh the re-election needs of new members such as Tim Walz of Minnesota, whose constituency includes many farmers used to collecting subsidies, against those such as Arizona’s Gabrielle Giffords who would bring millions more back to her district if some farm payments were redirected to conservation programs, according to a new report by Environmental Defense.”

For more information about how the Farm Bill debate affects global poverty, check out our Farm Bill factsheet (pdf).