Chambliss is ready to fight veto of farm bill

WASHINGTON --- Sen. Saxby Chambliss said he's ready to join Democratic leaders to fight President Bush's threatened veto of the farm bill unveiled Thursday.

Mr. Chambliss, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, has been the chief mediator between the White House and the Democratic-controlled Congress on the sprawling legislation, particularly on the president's objections to its $300 billion price tag.

Last week, the Georgia senator had a private lunch with Mr. Bush at the White House, trying to persuade the president that Congress was making significant concessions.

But just hours after House and Senate leaders announced Thursday they had agreed on a final bill, the White House said Mr. Bush would veto it.

"This is a very balanced farm bill," Mr. Chambliss said. "We have addressed each and every one of (his) concerns. We have not given him everything he wanted, but we have moved very much in his direction."

ATLANTA --- The pace of raw-land development could slow as a result of legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Voters will have a say in November, though economics will likely play a large role, too, experts say.

The measure, if approved, would extend a break on property taxes to the owners of timber tracts larger than 2,000 acres. Owners of smaller parcels have had access to the benefit since the 1990s.

The Georgia Forest Land Protection Act of 2008, which Mr. Perdue signed while attending the Swainsboro Pine Tree Festival and Timber Expo, is designed to help timberland owners from having to sell out to developers in order to afford their taxes.

-- From wire reports