Chambliss would try to override farm bill veto

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) told White House officials Tuesday morning that if President Bush vetoes the farm bill, he’ll work to override it.

“Our goal has been to write the best bill for farmers and ranchers all across America,” Chambliss told reporters after a meeting of House and Senate conferees on the farm bill.

{mosads}“I told the White House this morning, if they do veto it my goal is going to be to override them. We're trying to write the best bill we can to generate those votes.”

Chambliss, the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, said he is hopeful that House and Senate members can reach agreement on a farm bill that President Bush can support.

At the same time, he signaled he will work to build veto-proof support for the farm bill. “We're very hopeful of getting a strong veto-proof majority,” he said.

The farm bill could come to the House floor as early as Thursday.

Administration officials have repeatedly expressed objections to the cost of the $286 billion bill, and threatened to veto earlier versions of the farm bill approved by the House and Senate last year. It is unclear whether Bush would veto a final compromise between the chambers.

On Tuesday, however, Chambliss and his GOP counterpart in the House, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (Va.), relayed to other conferees harsh White House criticism that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was underestimating the farm bill’s cost. Chambliss and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) both defended the CBO estimate.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture referred questions to the White House, which did not return two calls for comment.