U.S. Farm Bill Rejected

June 21, 2013

The U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a $500 million farm bill because of bipartisan opposition to cuts in food stamps.

The bill was defeated Thursday on a vote of 234 to 195, just a week after the Senate passed its own version of the bill.

House Democrats objected to the bill’s $2 billion cut in food stamps, which poor people use in supermarkets to help pay for groceries. They said millions of Americans would lose those benefits.

Republicans who voted against the bill said the cuts were not deep enough.

Thursday’s defeat means Congress is highly unlikely to reconsider another farm bill before the end of the fiscal year. The Senate’s version of the bill included continuation of an international food aid program and expanded crop insurance to help farmers survive when grain prices fall.

Farm bills are typically authorized in five-year increments, but an agreement on this latest installation of the legislation has eluded Congress.

[VOA]

Comments

10 Responses to “U.S. Farm Bill Rejected”

  1. Ugh on June 24th, 2013 7:00 pm

    No one called anyone a monster. The government chooses to help other countries. Spend money on wars to help other countries and the countries could careless about us.

  2. David Huie Green on June 24th, 2013 1:37 pm

    CONTEMPLATING:
    “closed minded as people around here some would rather children do without then for foodstamps be given. Our country helps other countries children more then is own.”

    Not that it matters, since you’ve already REALIZED we’re all monsters who hate children, but when we read from your cited source:

    http://www.nokidhungry.org/problem/hunger-facts

    “Food insecurity—the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food— exists in 17.2 million households in America, 3.9 million of them with children.
    “- – -with incomes near or below the federal poverty line, among households with children headed by single parents (35.1% of female-headed households with children are food-insecure) and among Black and Hispanic households.”

    Please note neither “limited” nor “uncertain” means “absent”. So what’re our options?

    Do nothing? We’ve already decided to try to help.

    Give enough money to feed the children? we already do.

    Stop these people from having children? Most of us don’t get them pregnant, we offer free public education to help them get good jobs after graduation, we offer information and materials to avoid pregnancy but anything more might be considered intrusive, paternalistic, sexist and/or racist.

    Is it right to force others to pay for their decisions?

    http://www.nokidhungry.org/problem/hunger-facts

    “Federal nutrition programs play a critical role in helping children build healthy minds and bodies. Unfortunately, statistics show that these resources are not reaching all of the kids who need them.“

    Does this say the resources aren’t available?
    No, it says the kids aren’t getting them.

    http://www.nokidhungry.org/blog/cooking-matters/2012/01/low-income-families-cook-dinner-home-five-nights-week-aspire-eat

    “Eighty-five percent of the families surveyed said that eating healthy meals is important to them, and two-thirds of families are interested in learning about cooking healthy meals.”

    15% actually admit they don’t care and 1/3 admit they aren’t interested in improving.

    David for truth

  3. Preda on June 24th, 2013 10:13 am

    Nokidhungrey web site tells about the children but as closed minded as people around here some would rather children do without then for foodstamps be given. Our country helps other countries children more then is own.

  4. David Huie Green on June 23rd, 2013 10:17 pm

    Who is going hungry?

  5. Preda on June 23rd, 2013 1:02 pm

    Nobody wants to help our own country but everyone wants to help other countries. Funny how everyone fights for other countries spend billions for them but could care less about its own people being hungry.

  6. David Huie Green on June 21st, 2013 8:36 pm

    now that I’m not just on my cell phone,

    Some foreign aid goes to Russia probably to reward them for handing over their nuclear bombs to us rather than less friendly people. Fairly cheap for the possible savings in lives and buildings (and cities).

    Some foreign aid is basically a rental of space to put military bases. Admittedly, we wouldn’t need them if we didn’t have interests around the world, but we do and fear to walk away from them lest unfriendly people take our place or cut off our vital supplies.

    Foreign aid is also a stimulus program for assorted American industries. By that, I mean quite often the money is only allowed to be spent on items made in America and transported on American bottoms, ships.

    This is why the federal government puts the food assistance program in the farm bill.
    The idea is not to feed the poor with healthy meals, that would be much cheaper.
    The idea is to provide sales for farmers or at least agribusiness.

    It is all thought to roll around, sales are related to jobs, jobs are related to taxes paid and benefits not paid. Maybe so, maybe no.

    David for open eyes

  7. David Huie Green on June 21st, 2013 2:32 pm

    Foreign aid is about one percent of federal budget biggest beneficiary is Israel. Then EGYPT to not war with Israel Cut all out completely and at most save penny per dollar . No problem with cut but do not expect much savings.

  8. 429SCJ on June 21st, 2013 10:01 am

    Cut out all this foreign aid.

  9. Dennis HE Wiggins on June 21st, 2013 9:05 am

    I’m glad this was voted down. The Socialist Liberals were just using it as a way to promote their envisioned “Welfare State.” Tell me – just how DO food stamps fit into a “Farm Bill?” Another of those pork-barrel spending projects.

  10. Southerner on June 21st, 2013 7:51 am

    Cut more.