Senate passes farm bill

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Monday passed a five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill that expands government subsidies for crop insurance, rice and peanuts while making small cuts to food stamps.

The bill passed on a bipartisan 66-27 vote. The legislation, which costs almost $100 billion annually, also would eliminate subsidies that are paid to farmers whether they farm or not. All told, it would save about $2.4 billion a year on the farm and nutrition programs, including across-the-board cuts that took effect earlier this year.

Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said the bill would support 16 million American jobs, save taxpayers billions and put into place “the most significant reforms to agriculture programs in decades.” But it would still generously subsidize corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, sugar and other major crops grown by U.S. farmers.

The legislation would also set policy for programs to protect environmentally sensitive land, international food aid and other projects to help rural communities. The Senate passed a similar farm bill last year.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Monday that his chamber will take up its version of the farm bill this month. Debate in the House is expected to be contentious and much more partisan than in the Senate, with disagreements among the GOP caucus over domestic food aid that makes up almost 80 percent of the bill’s cost.

Last year, the House declined to take up the legislation during an election year amid conflict over how much should be cut from the food stamp program, which now serves one in seven Americans and cost almost $80 billion last year. That cost has more than doubled since 2008.

The bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee last month would make much larger cuts to food stamps than the Senate version, in a bid to gain support from those House conservatives who have opposed the measure. The Senate bill would cut the food stamp program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by about $400 million a year, or half a percent. The House bill would cut the program by $2 billion a year, or a little more than 3 percent, and make it more difficult for some people to qualify.

In his statement Monday, Boehner signaled support for the House bill’s level of food stamp cuts, saying they are changes that “both parties know are necessary.” Other Republicans are expected to offer amendments to expand the cuts, setting up a potentially even more difficult resolution with the Senate version.

On the Senate floor, senators rejected amendments on food stamp cuts, preserving the $400 million annual decrease. The bill’s farm-state supporters also fended off efforts to cut sugar, tobacco and other farm supports.

Senators looking to pare back subsidies did win one victory in the Senate, an amendment to reduce the government’s share of crop insurance premiums for farmers with adjusted gross incomes of more than $750,000. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said their amendment would affect about 20,000 farmers.