U.S. Senate Passes Farm Bill; Food Stamp Fight Looms In House

Source: REUTERS

Tue Jun 11, 2013 4:33am IST
By Charles Abbott

(Reuters) - The Democratic-run U.S. Senate passed a $500 billion, five-year farm bill on Monday that expands a taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance program and rejects sweeping cuts in food stamps for the poor being pursued in the House of Representatives.

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It was the second time in a year that the Senate has sent a five-year farm bill to the Republican-led House, which let the bill die at the end of 2012.

Analysts say food stamp cuts remain the legislation's make-or-break issue, given otherwise broad similarities between the two versions.

While the Senate would trim food stamps by $4 billion over a decade, the bill awaiting debate in the House calls for a $20 billion cut, the largest in a generation. Some 2 million people, or 4 percent of enrollment, would lose benefits.

Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/usa-agriculture-farm-bill-idINL2N0EM24020130610