CONGRESS passed a Farm Bill and they are all giddy and patting themselves and each other on their backs, third way (jellyfish) democrats, repiglicans and tea-baggers. They are all giddy over cutting 8 billion dollars from SNAP, taking food from the mouths of children and their parents, from the long term unemployed, from the retired, from American veterans. God forbid, oh wait, not the Christian God, but their god, and of their greedy corporate farm masters, that they would obtain the savings from the 50 millionaires / billionaires who received farm subsidies last year, and by cutting the tax breaks and subsidies big agribusiness receives year after year. From Daily Kos and the Washington Post.....
Joan McCarter
This is not Paul Allen.
And many, many more. That's a list composed by the Environmental Working Group, using their database of farm subsidy recipients compared to Forbes 400 list of the country's richest people. Between 1995 and 2012, these 50 people—who have have a collective net worth of $316 billion—received $11.3 million in farm subsidy payments. They've probably have even received more in crop insurance payments, but we don't know because the law doesn't allow prohibits the disclosure of the identities of crop insurance policyholders.
- Paul Allen (Net worth: $15.8 billion)
Co-founder of Microsoft- Charles Ergen (Net worth: $12.5 billion)
Co-founder of DISH Network- Philip Anschutz (Net worth: $10 billion)
Owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group and co-founder of Major League Soccer- Leonard Lauder (Net worth: $7.6 billion)
Son of Estee Lauder and former CEO of the Estee Lauder Companies Inc.- Richard DeVos (Net worth: $6.8 billion)
Co-founder of Amway and Republican candidate for governor of Michigan in 2006- Jim Kennedy (Net worth: $6.7 billion)
Chairman of Cox Enterprises- S. Truett Cathy (Net worth: $6 billion)
Founder of Chick-fil-A [...]
While a congressional conference committee meets to decide if they're going to cut $40 billion (House bill) or $10 billion (Senate bill) from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, they are probably going to give billionaires even more!
[P]roposed changes adopted in both the House and Senate versions of the bill will likely allow these billionaires to bank millions more in premium subsidies. Both bills would shift subsidies from programs currently subject to means testing to the more generous crop insurance program. Unlike traditional farm subsidies, crop insurance premium subsidies are not currently subject to means testing, payment limits or conservation requirements. In 2008, Congress created a means test that was designed to deny some subsidies to individuals with annual off-farm income of more than $500,000. The year before, Bloomberg News published a report highlighting some of the billionaires who had been receiving subsidies. But, lawmakers specifically declined to apply it to crop insurance, which has become the primary government support for farm business income.The system is already skewed for, of course, the largest one percent of farm businesses. They received about $227,000 a year in crop insurance premium support in 2011, according to EWG's analysis from USDA data. Meanwhile, the bottom 80 percent of farmers received only about $5,000 apiece. There is no reason on earth taxpayers should be subsidizing what are already nothing more than tax write-offs for the nation's wealthiest people. And we particularly should not be subsidizing them when millions are in danger of going hungry because the austerity fetishists in Congress think they're getting too much food.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/07/1253828/-50-billionaires-received-11-3-million-in-farm-welfare-could-get-more-in-new-farm-bill?detail=email
Farm bill passes after three years of talks
4FEB14
Congress gave final approval Tuesday to a sweeping overhaul of a broad range of federal farm and nutrition policies affecting what farmers grow, how food is packaged and sold and how the government helps poor people pay for their groceries.
The Senate voted 68 to 32 Tuesday afternoon to approve a new, five-year farm bill that the House passed last week. The measure heads next to President Obama, who is expected to sign it in the coming days.
After nearly four years of haggling between Democrats and Republicans, the $956.4 billion package was unveiled last week and sailed through Congress in just a matter of days.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) described the agreement Tuesday as "a major bipartisan jobs bill that makes sure that 16 million people who work in agriculture... have the support that they need."
The 959-page bill authorizes the end of billions of dollars in direct subsidy payments to the nation’s farmers. In their place, farmers will be able to take advantage of a new crop insurance program. The agreement also saves billions by consolidating government conservation programs and cuts about $8 billion in funding for food stamps by tweaking eligibility rules. The bill is supposed to cut roughly $16 billion in government spending over the next decade, according to government estimates.
The bill includes changes to complex programs involving environmental regulations on farms, aid to dairy and sheep farmers, and what kind of food the Agriculture Department should buy to replenish the nation’s food banks. But most of the political attention has focused on food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Negotiations over a new bill nearly collapsed in July when House GOP leaders, bending to the demands of tea party members, split apart the farm bill and held separate votes on measures setting most agricultural policy and another that would have slashed $40 billion in SNAP money by dramatically rewriting eligibility rules.
Ultimately, House and Senate negotiators agreed to cut about $8 billion – or 1 percent of the program’s budget -- by closing a loophole that several states and the District of Columbia have used to boost SNAP payments to low-income households. That change will reduce benefits for about 850,000 households nationwide, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. Supporters say the cuts will come by implementing safeguards designed to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the program.
A bloc of liberal lawmakers voted against the legislation in opposition to the food stamp cuts, while some conservatives voted against the agreement because it failed to more boldly cut SNAP funding.
RELATED:
The Fix: What's in the farm bill?
Graphic: Americans on food stamps
Congress gave final approval Tuesday to a sweeping overhaul of a broad range of federal farm and nutrition policies affecting what farmers grow, how food is packaged and sold and how the government helps poor people pay for their groceries.
The Senate voted 68 to 32 Tuesday afternoon to approve a new, five-year farm bill that the House passed last week. The measure heads next to President Obama, who is expected to sign it in the coming days.
After nearly four years of haggling between Democrats and Republicans, the $956.4 billion package was unveiled last week and sailed through Congress in just a matter of days.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) described the agreement Tuesday as "a major bipartisan jobs bill that makes sure that 16 million people who work in agriculture... have the support that they need."
The 959-page bill authorizes the end of billions of dollars in direct subsidy payments to the nation’s farmers. In their place, farmers will be able to take advantage of a new crop insurance program. The agreement also saves billions by consolidating government conservation programs and cuts about $8 billion in funding for food stamps by tweaking eligibility rules. The bill is supposed to cut roughly $16 billion in government spending over the next decade, according to government estimates.
The bill includes changes to complex programs involving environmental regulations on farms, aid to dairy and sheep farmers, and what kind of food the Agriculture Department should buy to replenish the nation’s food banks. But most of the political attention has focused on food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Negotiations over a new bill nearly collapsed in July when House GOP leaders, bending to the demands of tea party members, split apart the farm bill and held separate votes on measures setting most agricultural policy and another that would have slashed $40 billion in SNAP money by dramatically rewriting eligibility rules.
Ultimately, House and Senate negotiators agreed to cut about $8 billion – or 1 percent of the program’s budget -- by closing a loophole that several states and the District of Columbia have used to boost SNAP payments to low-income households. That change will reduce benefits for about 850,000 households nationwide, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. Supporters say the cuts will come by implementing safeguards designed to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the program.
A bloc of liberal lawmakers voted against the legislation in opposition to the food stamp cuts, while some conservatives voted against the agreement because it failed to more boldly cut SNAP funding.
RELATED:
The Fix: What's in the farm bill?
Graphic: Americans on food stamps
Ed O'Keefe covers Congress and politics for the Washington Post. He previously covered the 2008 and 2012 campaigns and reported on federal agencies and federal employees as author of The Federal Eye blog. Follow Ed on Twitter.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/04/farm-bill-passes-after-three-years-of-talks/?wpisrc=al_comboPN_p
Hemp, farm-raised fish, food labels and food stamps: What’s in the farm bill?
Updated 9:41 a.m. Jan. 29.
The cows are finally coming home.
After more than two years of talks, negotiators released a long-awaited farm bill Monday evening. The legislation is the last big item on the 2013 congressional to-do list, and it's expected to sail through the House and Senate in the coming days — mostly because lawmakers want to get it over with already.
Just as we scoured the more than 1,000-page $1.1 trillion spending agreement passed this month for juicy tidbits, we've perused the 959-page farm bill to call out some neat, new and interesting anecdotes that might not normally see the light of day.
If you're a more serious student of farming and food stamp legislation, read the bill for yourself or read our news story on the bill here. But if you're in the market for information that might impress friends, family, strangers, co-workers and cocktail-hour buddies, then read on below. (We'll be adding to and adjusting this summary as we learn more.)
How much will the farm bill cost? And how much in federal spending will be cut?
The cost of the Agricultural Act of 2014 is $956.4 billion, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The measure is expected to reduce federal spending by $16.6 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO. Supporters of the bill argue that the bill saves closer to $23 billion, based on budgeting that existed when the last farm bill passed in 2008 and before automatic budget cuts known as sequestration took effect.
Regardless, the cuts are a major selling point in this age of austerity. The measure slashes billions of dollars from farm programs, including an end to direct payments to farmers — money that often went to farmers who don't actually farm. President Obama and fiscal conservatives including Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have been after this program for years — and now it's a goner. The agreement also includes about $6 billion in savings by merging 23 separate conservation programs into 13. It's a move supported by conservation groups nationwide, according to House and Senate aides. Finally, the bill cuts about $8 billion in the federal food stamp program.
Yeah, about those cuts to the food stamp program: How'd they do it?
First off, food stamps are now formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Negotiators found a way to cut about $8 billion in funding for the program over the next decade.
Most of the savings will come by tweaking federal "heat and eat" benefits that House and Senate aides say have been exploited in recent years by several states and the District of Columbia to boost how much money some people receive from SNAP.
The changes will require the states and D.C. to pay more in "heat and eat" money, a move that will reduce, but not eliminate, SNAP payments by about $90 monthly for about 850,000 households.
The Farm Bill also cuts SNAP funding by prohibiting the Agriculture Department from spending money on television, radio and billboard ads to promote the program and on programs designed to recruit new beneficiaries. And in response to years of documented evidence of misuse and abuse of the program, USDA will need to ensure that illegal immigrants, lottery winners, college students and the dead cannot receive food stamps and that people cannot collect benefits in multiple states.
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL for short)
Where does your food come from? It's a long-running battle between the USDA, the World Trade Organization, livestock producers and consumer advocacy groups.
Page 881 of the farm bill outlines "Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Goat Meat, Wild and Farm-raised Fish and Shellfish, Perishable Agricultural Commodities, Peanuts, Pecans, Ginseng and Macadamia Nuts."
It's a mouthful (no pun intended), and the new bill didn't do anything to reverse new "country of origin labeling" rules established by the Obama administration last year. The rules require labels explaining where a meat product was born, raised and slaughtered. The labels are favored by the "farm-to-fork" community and other consumer groups, but the livestock industry — especially meat-packing companies like Tysons Foods — have challenged the new rules in federal court. They argue that the new rules are too burdensome and could upset trade relations with Canada, Mexico and other countries.
Industrial hemp
Want to study the effects of industrial hemp? Now you can do it, so long as your state permits it.
For the first time, the farm bill will authorize colleges and universities to grow industrial hemp for research purposes in states that permit growth and cultivation of the plant. Currently nine states — Colorado, California, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia — have such laws.
Aides noted that the new hemp-themed provisions are among hundreds of policy and spending details buried in the legislation, but the decision is likely to contribute to a growing national debate about the legalization of marijuana both for medicinal and recreational purposes.
And what exactly is "industrial hemp?"
Glad you asked. According to the bill, "the term 'industrial hemp' means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis."
Makes sense, right?
What is "farm-raised fish?"
A big deal for the Whole Foods crowd. According to the bill, "The term 'farm-raised fish' means any aquatic species that is propagated and reared in a controlled environment."
And what is "livestock?"
The bill says that "The term 'livestock' includes (A) cattle (including dairy cattle); (B) bison; (C) poultry; (D) sheep; (E) swine; (F) horses and; (G) other livestock, as determined by the Secretary" of agriculture.
Halal and Kosher foods
"As soon as practicable," the USDA is instructed to "increase the purchase" of halal and kosher foods to be added to the department's emergency food assistance program that helps replenish the supply of food at soup kitchens, food banks and shelters.
In the battle of Sheep vs. Trey Radel, the sheep win
Monday really was a bad day for now-former Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.). Not only did he resign from Congress, but a federal institution he fought to kill — the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center — lives on. As The Post's David A. Fahrenthold pointed out a few weeks back, the center gives grants to sheep researchers, sheep-rancher associations and young shearers in training. This past summer, Radel stood up before the House to argue that, at a cost of $1 million or more, it was too expensive to keep.
But the program lives on.
The farm bill includes $1.5 million in funding this fiscal year to strengthen and enhance "the production and marketing of sheep and sheep products in the United States."
Also, there's no red meat in the bill
No, really. The bill repeals the "Red Meat Safety Research Center," which was first established by Congress in 1990.
What did we miss? What would you add? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Updated and corrected: An earlier version of this bill reported that the bill was expected to save $23 billion over the next decade. While sponsors of the bill argue that the measure will save that amount by using calculations that don't factor in recent automatic budget cuts known as the sequester, a CBO estimate released Tuesday estimates that the bill will save closer to $16 billion in the next decade.
The cows are finally coming home.
After more than two years of talks, negotiators released a long-awaited farm bill Monday evening. The legislation is the last big item on the 2013 congressional to-do list, and it's expected to sail through the House and Senate in the coming days — mostly because lawmakers want to get it over with already.
Just as we scoured the more than 1,000-page $1.1 trillion spending agreement passed this month for juicy tidbits, we've perused the 959-page farm bill to call out some neat, new and interesting anecdotes that might not normally see the light of day.
If you're a more serious student of farming and food stamp legislation, read the bill for yourself or read our news story on the bill here. But if you're in the market for information that might impress friends, family, strangers, co-workers and cocktail-hour buddies, then read on below. (We'll be adding to and adjusting this summary as we learn more.)
How much will the farm bill cost? And how much in federal spending will be cut?
The cost of the Agricultural Act of 2014 is $956.4 billion, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The measure is expected to reduce federal spending by $16.6 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO. Supporters of the bill argue that the bill saves closer to $23 billion, based on budgeting that existed when the last farm bill passed in 2008 and before automatic budget cuts known as sequestration took effect.
Regardless, the cuts are a major selling point in this age of austerity. The measure slashes billions of dollars from farm programs, including an end to direct payments to farmers — money that often went to farmers who don't actually farm. President Obama and fiscal conservatives including Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) have been after this program for years — and now it's a goner. The agreement also includes about $6 billion in savings by merging 23 separate conservation programs into 13. It's a move supported by conservation groups nationwide, according to House and Senate aides. Finally, the bill cuts about $8 billion in the federal food stamp program.
(The Washington Post)
First off, food stamps are now formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Negotiators found a way to cut about $8 billion in funding for the program over the next decade.
Most of the savings will come by tweaking federal "heat and eat" benefits that House and Senate aides say have been exploited in recent years by several states and the District of Columbia to boost how much money some people receive from SNAP.
The changes will require the states and D.C. to pay more in "heat and eat" money, a move that will reduce, but not eliminate, SNAP payments by about $90 monthly for about 850,000 households.
The Farm Bill also cuts SNAP funding by prohibiting the Agriculture Department from spending money on television, radio and billboard ads to promote the program and on programs designed to recruit new beneficiaries. And in response to years of documented evidence of misuse and abuse of the program, USDA will need to ensure that illegal immigrants, lottery winners, college students and the dead cannot receive food stamps and that people cannot collect benefits in multiple states.
(Tim Carman/The Washington Post)
Where does your food come from? It's a long-running battle between the USDA, the World Trade Organization, livestock producers and consumer advocacy groups.
Page 881 of the farm bill outlines "Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Goat Meat, Wild and Farm-raised Fish and Shellfish, Perishable Agricultural Commodities, Peanuts, Pecans, Ginseng and Macadamia Nuts."
It's a mouthful (no pun intended), and the new bill didn't do anything to reverse new "country of origin labeling" rules established by the Obama administration last year. The rules require labels explaining where a meat product was born, raised and slaughtered. The labels are favored by the "farm-to-fork" community and other consumer groups, but the livestock industry — especially meat-packing companies like Tysons Foods — have challenged the new rules in federal court. They argue that the new rules are too burdensome and could upset trade relations with Canada, Mexico and other countries.
Ripened hemp plants prior to harvest. (Washington Post via Hemp Oil Canada)
Want to study the effects of industrial hemp? Now you can do it, so long as your state permits it.
For the first time, the farm bill will authorize colleges and universities to grow industrial hemp for research purposes in states that permit growth and cultivation of the plant. Currently nine states — Colorado, California, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia — have such laws.
Aides noted that the new hemp-themed provisions are among hundreds of policy and spending details buried in the legislation, but the decision is likely to contribute to a growing national debate about the legalization of marijuana both for medicinal and recreational purposes.
And what exactly is "industrial hemp?"
Glad you asked. According to the bill, "the term 'industrial hemp' means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis."
Makes sense, right?
Farm-raised salmon from Chile. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
A big deal for the Whole Foods crowd. According to the bill, "The term 'farm-raised fish' means any aquatic species that is propagated and reared in a controlled environment."
And what is "livestock?"
The bill says that "The term 'livestock' includes (A) cattle (including dairy cattle); (B) bison; (C) poultry; (D) sheep; (E) swine; (F) horses and; (G) other livestock, as determined by the Secretary" of agriculture.
Halal and Kosher foods
"As soon as practicable," the USDA is instructed to "increase the purchase" of halal and kosher foods to be added to the department's emergency food assistance program that helps replenish the supply of food at soup kitchens, food banks and shelters.
Now-former representative Trey Radel (R-Fla.). (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
Monday really was a bad day for now-former Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.). Not only did he resign from Congress, but a federal institution he fought to kill — the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center — lives on. As The Post's David A. Fahrenthold pointed out a few weeks back, the center gives grants to sheep researchers, sheep-rancher associations and young shearers in training. This past summer, Radel stood up before the House to argue that, at a cost of $1 million or more, it was too expensive to keep.
But the program lives on.
The farm bill includes $1.5 million in funding this fiscal year to strengthen and enhance "the production and marketing of sheep and sheep products in the United States."
Also, there's no red meat in the bill
No, really. The bill repeals the "Red Meat Safety Research Center," which was first established by Congress in 1990.
What did we miss? What would you add? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Updated and corrected: An earlier version of this bill reported that the bill was expected to save $23 billion over the next decade. While sponsors of the bill argue that the measure will save that amount by using calculations that don't factor in recent automatic budget cuts known as the sequester, a CBO estimate released Tuesday estimates that the bill will save closer to $16 billion in the next decade.
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