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Politics

Senate's farm bill expands subsidies

The bill is a veto target, and the House is short of the votes to override.

WASHINGTON - The Senate approved a $286-billion farm bill Friday with an election-year expansion of subsidies for growers and food stamps for the poor.

The bill, passed on a 79-14 vote, expands subsidies for wheat, soybeans and several other crops and creates new grants for vegetable and fruit growers.

It also increases loan rates for sugar producers, extends dairy programs and provides more dollars for renewable energy and conservation programs to protect environmentally sensitive farmland over the next five years.

President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation, saying it costs too much and should instead be cutting subsidies at a time of record-high crop prices. He also has threatened to veto a House version passed in July.

Acting Secretary of Agriculture Charles Conner said Friday he was "disappointed" with the Senate outcome. "This bill has a tough road ahead of it," he said. He singled out the Senate's rejection this week of an amendment that would have ended government subsidy payments to farmers earning more than $750,000 after expenses. The current cutoff is $2.5-million.

Unlike the Senate, the House did not approve the bill by a veto-proof majority, or two-thirds of the chamber. That vote was 231-191.

White House opposition and criticism from fiscal conservatives have so far had little impact on the politically popular bill. Farm-state senators deflected several attempts to derail the bill and reduce government payments to large growers.

Still, even some from farming country acknowledge that the bill doesn't do enough to trim the government's massive subsidy programs.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, had hoped to take significant steps to reduce subsidies but was blocked by Southern lawmakers on the committee who favor current law. Southern crops such as rice and cotton are more expensive to produce than corn, wheat and most other crops grown around the country.

While the House and Senate bills are similar, significant differences will have to be worked out after Congress reconvenes in January.

Fast facts

Highlights of the bills

Both the House and Senate farm bills expand subsidy programs for several crops, including wheat, barley, oats and soybeans; add money for fruits and vegetables; and increase loan rates for sugar producers. Also:

-The bills boost funding for food stamps and other nutrition programs, conservation programs that protect environmentally sensitive farmland and incentives for the production of renewable fuels.

-Both bills would require meats and other fresh foods to be labeled with their country of origin starting next year.

-Neither bill reduces direct payments, which many farmers receive regardless of crop yield.

[Last modified December 15, 2007, 01:59:53]