When Speaker Nancy Pelosi accepted the gavel in January, she called for the creation of a new America. "The American people also spoke clearly for a new direction here at home - they desire a new vision, a new America, built on the values that made our country great," including fairness.

Unfortunately, the Farm Bill delivered by the House Agriculture Committee is far less than fair:

• More than half of all farm spending will continue to flow to just 20 congressional districts.
• Millions of hungry kids will continue to go to bed without knowing the source of their next meal.
• Thousands of family farmers offering to share the cost of a healthy environment will continue to be turned away.
• Thousands more family farmers will be driven off the land by larger neighbors now able to collect unlimited farm subsidies.
• Subsistence farmers in the developing world will be pushed closer to ruin by subsidies that drive down global cotton prices.
• Black and Latino farmers will continue to lack adequate access to farm programs from which they have long been excluded.
• Fruit and vegetable farmers will receive a small slice — but not nearly a fair share — of federal farm spending pie.

Fortunately, a bipartisan group of legislators will offer an amendment this week to bring fairness to farm and food policies.

The "Fairness in Farm and Food Policy" amendment will reduce and restructure depression-era subsidies to help more farmers and to help meet America's urgent health, hunger and environmental priorities.

In particular, the amendment replaces depression-era price guarantees with a modern revenue-based safety net developed by USDA experts that better protects family farmers from declines in crop prices and crop yields.

The amendment also denies subsidies to large commercial farmers with average annual adjusted gross income greater than $500,000 and limit annual subsidies to $250,000 per person.

Finally, the amendment gradually reduces direct payments, which were created to wean farmers off subsidies in 1996 but which have become an entitlement program that will cost more than $26 billion over the next five years. The "fairness" floor amendment will include major new investments, including:

More Domestic Hunger Assistance – The fairness amendment will increase hunger assistance by at least $5.4 billion over five years to feed more deserving people, especially hungry children and seniors.

Reward Stewardship – The fairness amendment increases voluntary stewardship incentives by $3 billion over five years above the Committee's proposal, including more funds to share the cost of clean water and wildlife habitat and for the preservation of open spaces.

Promote Healthy Food Choices – The amendment increases by $1.2 billion over five years resources to fund healthy food choices, including more fresh fruits and vegetables for school children and more farmers markets.

Support For Our Fruit and Vegetable Producers – To fairly address the needs of all producers, the amendment expands programs to more equitably support our fruit and vegetable producers by $1 billion above the Agriculture Committee’s investment, including research and grant programs.

Support For Our Minority Farmers – The amendment provides $500 million over five years above the Committee’s proposal and makes overdue changes which will make USDA programs more accessible to minority farmers.

Boosts Rural Prosperity – The amendment will boost rural prosperity by providing $200 million more than the Committee invests over five years in grants and loans for the development of new rural enterprises.

Reduces the Deficit by $10 billion – The amendment would reduce the deficit by $2 billion over five years and by roughly $10 billion over 10 years.

Expands School Lunches Overseas – The amendment increases by $1.1 billion over five years the McGovern-Dole program to provide school lunches to hungry children in developing countries.

By denying subsidies to some millionaires but allowing unlimited subsidies to those farm families annually earning less than $2 million, the House Agriculture Committee took one step forward and two steps back.

Farm and food policies that are fair — and that measure up to the Speaker's vision for a new America — would not provide unlimited farm subsidies to wealthy farmers and deny food and farm assistance to the hungry and to small family farmers. Farm and food policies that are fair would restucture and reduce our outdated subsidies — especially direct payments linked to past production — to help meet America's urgent hunger, health and environmental priorities.