Farm Bill Passes the Senate

The Farm Bill we wrote on yesterday has passed the Senate with a remarkable 81-15 majority. Politico reports on the controversial bill here.

The bill offers mild reform for farm subsidies by capping government payments to the wealthiest farmers, but this is just one of two main aspects as reported by Politico:

A stricter $40,000-per-year payment cap promises to reduce how much larger farmers can claim in annual direct payments. And with the high prices today, the cost of commodity programs is projected to shrink to about $35 billion over the next five years, just 11 percent of the total bill and less than half of federal expenditures for many of the same programs in a comparable 2002-2006 period.

At the same time, nutrition and conservation spending accounts for 76 percent of the bill’s costs, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, and this was enough to help hold together most Democrats. And new tax breaks are included to encourage development of new renewable energy sources apart from corn ethanol.

If you haven’t already, read up on this legislation, because the bill passed by big majorities in the House and Senate, making it likely to become law even if President Bush vetos it as he has been threatening.