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Long-delayed U.S. farm bill heads for final showdown
Source: Reuters
Long-delayed U.S. farm bill heads for final showdown
By Charles Abbott
WASHINGTON | Fri Oct 11, 2013 7:07pm EDT
(Reuters) - The final stage of the long-delayed U.S. farm bill is about to begin, but drafting a legislative compromise between the Senate and House of Representatives is still hampered by deep partisan divisions over cuts in food stamps for the poor.
Lawmakers in the House agreed on Friday to open negotiations with the Senate over a final version of the five-year, $500 billion bill. Its salient agricultural initiative, but one that is mostly not controversial, is an expansion of federally subsidized crop insurance by 10 percent.
The major dispute in the bill is food stamps, which help low-income Americans, mostly children, the elderly or disabled, to buy food. The latest figures show a near-record 47.8 million people received benefits averaging $133 a month.
The Republican-controlled House wants to cut the major U.S. antihunger program by $39 billion over a decade, nearly 10 times the reduction proposed by the Democrat-run Senate. The tighter eligibility rules in the House plan would cut 4 million people from the program in 2014.
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By Charles Abbott
WASHINGTON | Fri Oct 11, 2013 7:07pm EDT
(Reuters) - The final stage of the long-delayed U.S. farm bill is about to begin, but drafting a legislative compromise between the Senate and House of Representatives is still hampered by deep partisan divisions over cuts in food stamps for the poor.
Lawmakers in the House agreed on Friday to open negotiations with the Senate over a final version of the five-year, $500 billion bill. Its salient agricultural initiative, but one that is mostly not controversial, is an expansion of federally subsidized crop insurance by 10 percent.
The major dispute in the bill is food stamps, which help low-income Americans, mostly children, the elderly or disabled, to buy food. The latest figures show a near-record 47.8 million people received benefits averaging $133 a month.
The Republican-controlled House wants to cut the major U.S. antihunger program by $39 billion over a decade, nearly 10 times the reduction proposed by the Democrat-run Senate. The tighter eligibility rules in the House plan would cut 4 million people from the program in 2014.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/11/us-usa-agriculture-idUSBRE99A10420131011
