Bush seeks to cut farm program funds

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Trying to tighten the federal budget, the Bush administration on Wednesday proposed to reduce farm payments $18 billion over the next five years.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is not seeking major changes in the nation's farm subsidy program, which major farm groups and lawmakers in Congress want to retain.

However, the administration is seeking to eliminate farm payments for wealthy producers and to limit subsidies to those who make less than $200,000 in adjusted gross income annually. The current income cap is $2.5 million.

Lawmakers are anticipating having fewer dollars for farm programs when Congress writes a new farm bill this year. President Bush has promised to balance the budget within five years, and the Democratic-run Congress is insisting on budget cuts to pay for new spending.

The farm bill — really a series of federal programs — gives farmers payments and other help to supplement their incomes, support crop prices and manage supplies.

The current farm bill written in 2002 expires at the end of this year. Johanns' plan would cost $87.3 billion over the next five years, not counting food stamps and other nutrition programs, compared with $105 billion spent on farm programs over the past five years.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_on_go_pr_wh/budget_farm_bill [link]