House Agriculture Committee Agrees on Farm Bill

[alp227]

Source: NYT

The House agriculture committee early Thursday voted to pass its version of a new farm bill that cuts $12 billion more from the food stamps program than a Senate bill passed last month and adds several new crop insurance and price support programs to protect farmers during natural disasters or when prices fall.

The House bill, which passed 35 to 11, would reduce food and nutrition spending by more than $35 billion, mainly by cutting about $16.5 billion from the food stamps program. The Senate bill cut about $23 billion in spending, with $4.5 billion in savings coming from food stamps. About 80 percent of farm bill spending goes to food stamps.

"Today marked an important step forward in the development of the next farm bill," said Representative Frank D. Lucas, Republican of Oklahoma and chairman of the House agriculture committee. "This is a balanced, reform-minded, fiscally responsible bill that underscores our commitment to production agriculture and rural America, achieves real savings and improves program efficiency."

But even after the agriculture committee vote, several obstacles stand in the way of getting a farm bill to the full House and passed before the election: a short legislative calendar to get work done, fundamental differences between House and Senate versions of the bill and pressure from conservatives for greater cuts in government spending over the objections of liberal lawmakers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/us/politics/house-agriculture-committee-agrees-on-farm-bill.html

[DCKit]

1. Fuckers. nt

[freshwest]

3. +1

[Monk06]

2. More subsidies for the gentlemen rich of flyover country but less of that food

for their fellow citizens. What was that Jesus miracle of the loaves and fishes
to feed the multitude?

Corporate food conglomerates and the subsidized rich 'family' farmer are a Bain
on the economy.

Not a single corn or soybean producer in the US should be getting one dime from
the government. They are the true welfare deadbeats and takers who are tanking
the US economy. That goes for the Petro deadbeats as well. Petro should be charged
a tax for the cost of the Iraq war which was fought for their interests. A Trillion dollar
tax for that war would go a long way to eliminating the deficit.

[freshwest]

4. +1.000

[fasttense]

5. Food taken out of the mouths of children in order to increase the wealth of agribusinesses.

In the middle of the worst economic downturn since the 1st RepubliCON Great Depression, we take food out of the mouths of children so we can increase the wealth of 500+ acre agribusinesses. Each of those supposed farmers, we are subsidizing with food stamp money, own on average 500 acres per farm. That's over $3 million just in land. We are letting children go hungry so multi-millionaires can make more money. What is wrong with our society that we allow this outrage?

[Major Hogwash]

6. Well said.

They corporatized farming in this country under President Raygun by driving down the price of the crops to be sold at market, squeezing out 1000s and 10s of 1000s of family farmers, and then after their farms were swallowed up by agribusiness corporations, they bought and paid for members of Congress to give out large subsidies to those very same large corporate-owned farms.

[unhappycamper]

7. I seem to recall that bill also has a "Monanso immunity" amendment.

[alp227]

8. Monsanto?

[spedtr90]

11. Immunity in courts

http://skimthat.com/2874/monsanto-rider-could-make-biotech-companies-immune-courts

Freedom to contaminate organic crops. Jefferson would be in favor, you betcha.

Monsanto already sues farmers for patent infringement when the FARMER'S CROP BECOMES CONTAMINATED BY DRIFT OF MONSANTO'S genetically engineered SEED. Totally ass-backward, and now the corporation will likely end up protected from small farmers.

http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/science-a-environmental/31314-judge-dismisses-case-against-monsanto-organic-farmers-to-appeal.html

[Eugene]

9. House panel opposes Senate crop insurance reforms

Source: Reuters

House panel opposes Senate crop insurance reforms

By Charles Abbott
WASHINGTON | Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:56am EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. House Agriculture Committee challenged two crop insurance reforms approved by the Senate, creating another farm-bill dispute with time running out to enact the new law.

Besides disagreeing on crop insurance, the House would increase crop price supports by up to 40 percent while the Senate would end the subsidies. And the House would cut four times as much money as the Senate from food stamps for the poor.

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Senators voted, 52-47, to require farmers to practice conservation to qualify for federally subsidized crop insurance.

They voted 66-33 to reduce the premium subsidy available to operators with more than $750,000 adjusted gross income a year.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/12/us-usa-agriculture-idUSBRE86B09C20120712

[spedtr90]

10. So disappointed in Walz from MN

First he votes to to hold the Attorney General in contempt and now this.