GOP Drops Food Stamps from Farm Bill

[babylonsister]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/07/09/gop_drops_food_stamps_from_farm_bill.html


GOP Drops Food Stamps from Farm Bill


House Republican leaders "have decided to drop food stamps from the farm bill and are whipping the farm-only portion of the bill for a vote that will likely come this week," Roll Call reports.

"The nutrition portion of the bill would be dealt with later."

"The 'new' farm bill would be the bill as it finished on the floor before the break, with the addition of a repeal of the 1949 law that requires the passage or extension of a farm bill."

[gollygee]

1. Yeah right

that would be the portion of the bill they block in congress until people are starving, right?

I feel pretty skeptical of their intentions.

[cali]

2. This is an attempt to kill SNAP. That simple

and to make sure that agribusiness gets its billions in subsidies, of course.

[atreides1]

5. I was thinking the same thing

The GOP need the agribusiness...they need the money from them for their campaigns. Didn't expect the GOP to piss off their real masters!

[questionseverything]

10. freaking hypocrites

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10044

And, before its return, the hypocrisy embedded in the "Tea Party" caucus' opposition to the bill needs to be highlighted. That hypocrisy is almost certainly best exemplified by one Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN).

Even the ordinarily staid New York Times was taken aback by the level of Fincher's hypocrisy that emerged when he quoted the Bible as justification for slashing food stamp benefits for the poor. He claims that assistance, somehow, amount to theft.

But the facts of Fincher's argument are even more embarrassing than that. The Times notes that Fincher himself has "collected nearly $3.5 million in subsidies from 1999 to 2012" in federal support for his 3,000 acre family farm.

"In 2012 alone, the data shows, Mr. Fincher received about $70,000 in direct payments, money that is given to farmers and farmland owners, even if they do not grow crops."

Even more remarkably, his argument in favor of cutting $20 billion in food stamps came during a debate over the bill in a U.S. House sub-committee which voted to increase subsidies to farmers by $9 billion in the wake of last year's record drought. That, of course, was before the reality of his own reliance on federal funding for his family farm was brought to light by the media...

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Well, there's hardly any 'farm' to it. It's all for the support of agri-businesses.

And note they're (GOP) attempting to make this one the final and forever bill.

[russspeakeasy]

4. As long as it's good fpr monsanto and dow, it must be good

for the country, right ?

[Dawson Leery]

6. Eliminate ALL farm subsidies.

[Downwinder]

8. +1

[Dawson Leery]

11. New Zealand is doing well without them.

[Downwinder]

12. In a FREE market they are anti-competitive.

[suffragette]

7. Just disgusting

K&R for providing info on this.

[Recursion]

9. Fine; that kills the whole bill.

This should be interesting.

[janlyn]

13. Not surprised.

They know that portion of the bill is not popular with the democrats. And they have made promises to big agriculture companies to get them those goodies.
Can't keep the people who are really in charge waiting, now can they?