Agricultural News
Senator Coburn Gets Limits Placed on Direct Payments to Millionaires in 2012 Appropriation Bill
Fri, 21 Oct 2011 07:29:57 CDT
Early Friday morning, a Senator Tom Coburn authored amendment that would prohibit anyone with $1,000,000 of adjusted gross income from receiving direct farm program payments was considered by the full Senate. It passed easily by a 84 to 15 vote.
"Rather than tax millionaires, the first thing we ought to do is quit giving them subsidies," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), the lead sponsor. Senate Agriculture Committee leaders vainly appealed for their colleagues to wait until promised reforms in the new farm bill, but with the handwriting on the wall, even old allies deserted sending the final tally up to 84-15 for Coburn's language.
Senator Coburn claims that the most recent year that CBO was able to provide him numbers that $49 million dollars went to people who would be above the million dollar cutoff.
Based on signals from the House and Senate Ag Leadership- the measure will become a moot point when a new farm bill is offered, as it appears unlikely that Direct Farm Payments will be a part of a new, leaner Commodity title that will be a part of the 2012 farm bill. Instead, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas and other Ag Committee leaders seem to be pointing more to a revenue assurance type safety net coupled with Crop Insurance. It could have impact on the last year of the current farm law- as 2012 is the last crop year covered in the 2008 Farm Law.
Click here for a backgrounder on Senate Amendment 791
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