Following the end of the government shutdown, conservatives in the House and Senate and members of the Tea Party are preparing to challenge federal farm subsidies in the upcoming farm bill, claiming that they are a waste of taxpayer funding.
For the past year and a half, the farm bill has been stalled in Congress. While this year’s latest effort has been more successful than 2012’s doomed debate, House Republicans still stalled the bill over food stamps funding and only passed a new farm bill when they separated food stamps from farm legislation.
Tea Party fiscal conservatives are joining with environmentalists to condemn extensive federal farm subsidies as handouts to wealthy farmers and an unnecessary stimulus to an already thriving industry. “You are using taxpayer money to subsidize industries that are making record profits,” said Dan Holler of Heritage Action, whose group is urging lawmakers to approve a one-year extension of existing farm policies rather “than locking in bad law for another three to five years,” he said.
“If you are a Republican and you say social welfare programs are wasteful, you are hypocritical if you turn around and give subsidies to corporations,” said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer