Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) was just a bit ago lamenting “an end to bipartisanship” during the Farm Bill debate on the House floor, in reference to the terrible tax loophole shutdown on corporations headquartered in tropical file drawers. It’s been included in the Farm Bill as an offset for nutrition programs. Dreier said that Democrats were “demonizing” good corporations like Toyota and “the Bayer Corporation that makes the baby Aspirin!”

Oh, my. I guess if Republicans can’t find actual babies to use as a shield for their policies, a mass market pharmaceutical product sold for babies will have to do.

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) asked, “If these people are complying with the law, why are they sending their receipts through the Carribbean?” He’d said earlier that four years ago, the Bush administration’s own Treasury Department had called the loophole “tax abuse.”

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) said he thought it would be hard for his colleagues to explain to their constituents that “they’d rather protect the tax cheaters in Bermuda than help the farmers” here in America.

Bush has threatened to veto the Farm Bill over this issue.

Update: Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) says this change won’t affect companies headquartered in countries the US has tax treaties with. He said the Republicans hadn’t named a single company that would be affected, including Ben & Jerry’s, as mentioned by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA).

Doggett said that when the Republicans say that the proposal will jeopardize 5 million jobs, they’re including all the jobs of all the foreign subsidiaries operating in the United States. He said most would not be affected.