Ezra Klein, writing at the WAPO, asks an interesting question after mulling over the resistance that the House Agriculture Committee members offered to the passage of the climate bill last week.  I had been assuming the way to break up the unremitting influence of big Ag on the Congressional Ag committees was to put some Congressional folks from states with our kind of diverse agriculture on the committees.  Ezra suggests that we just get rid of the Agriculture Committees. 

According to everyone that Ezra asked, the only reason anyone sits on an Agriculture Committee is to represent the interests of Big Ag and to secure large taxpayer subsidies for their products.  "And that, of course, is exactly what we've done. Between 1995 and 2006, we've spent $177.6 billion subsidizing agriculture. About $50 billion of that has gone to corn (is it any surprise that the Senate Agricultural Committee is chaired by an Iowan?)."

I like his attitude.  "Don't hate the players. Hate the game. And it's the game that needs to change. Parochial interests often conflict with the national interest. For that reason (among others), Congress was designed to be modified when the current rules ceased working well. New committees have emerged over time and old ones have dissolved. Agriculture deserved its own committee when it represented 80 percent of American exports. But it's no longer in the top 10, and it still has its own committee. The question is whether that state of affairs continues to make sense."

This is the first I've heard this idea so I'm not sold on it one way or the other.  However Ezra makes a couple other good points that bear considering here.  He reminds us that the Ag. Committees and the USDA are also responsible for administering the huge amount of food aid this country provides for the food stamp, WIC and other domestic and oversees food programs.  That is a clear conflict of interest.  "You'd think that we'd want food aid to these populations to be as healthful and fresh as possible. Instead, it's traditionally been a dumping ground for the dairy industry. In 2007, the program was finally updated to reduce the dairy content and include -- for the first time! -- substantial portions of fruits, vegetables and some whole grains."  Ezra goes on to say, "Put differently, WIC shouldn't be under the jurisdiction of the committee responsible for helping dairy companies make a profit. it should be under the jurisdiction of the committee responsible for helping to keep Americans healthy: the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee."

The other point I think was worth noting is that some say that the Ag Committees are really the Rural Committees "in disguise".  Ezra says, then have a standalone Rural Affairs Committee. 

Hm.  Makes some sense here.  Makes particular sense for the interests of Washington State which, although the 11th largest agricultural state, do not dovetail with the traditional interests of Big Ag.