- The Washington Times - Thursday, June 6, 2013

Almost 80 percent of the Senate’s proposed farm bill — a $955 billion measure — will be used to pay for food stamps in the coming decade.

“The trillion-dollar farm and food stamp bill should not be called the ’Farm Bill,” said Heritage Action for America CEO Michael Needham, to Breitbart. “Washington doesn’t want Americans to know that 80 percent of the spending in the bill goes to fund Obama’s big-government, food stamp agenda.”

As for the remaining 20 percent?

That goes for price supports for farmers — an “equally disturbing” federal disbursement, Mr. Needham said, in the Breitbart report.

“The appalling truth is that many people are paid to grow nothing,” he said, Breitbart reported. “The main recipients of the subsidies in the bill are the rich and famous, including families of current members of Congress and the USDA secretary Tom Vilsack. Big farmers with record high incomes, record low debt and vastly improved farm technology are getting your taxpayer money.”

The farm bill has been a pet peeve of core conservatives for years. Some say the entire bill is a violation of Republican promises to end “logrolling,” Breitbart said. That’s when unpopular pieces of legislation are tacked on to bills that are crucial and will likely pass.


SEE ALSO: Top secret: $80B a year for food stamps, but feds won’t reveal what’s purchased


The House version of the farm bill isn’t much better, in terms of trimming costs for non-farm related activities. It’s proposed at $940 billion over 10 years – and includes an outrageous new tax, on rocks, Breitbart reported.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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