The US Senate passed its trillion dollar farm bill Tuesday. Food stamp funding will be cut by around $8 billion over 10 years in the new bill.
The legislation passed 68-32.
UPI reported:
The U.S. Senate gave final approval to the farm bill Tuesday, following House approval last week.
After nearly four years of fighting between Democrats and Republicans, the massive package was unveiled last week and approved by Congress in just a matter of days. It was the first time Congress has approved a new farm bill since 2008.The $956.4 billion package includes a sweeping overhaul of federal farm and nutrition policies on what farmers grow, how food is packaged and sold and how the government helps the poor pay for their food, the Washington Post reported.
“This bill provides certainty to America’s farmers and ranchers, and contains a variety of commonsense reforms that my administration has consistently called for, including reforming and eliminating direct farm subsidies and providing assistance for farmers when they need it most. It will continue reducing our deficits without gutting the vital assistance programs millions of hardworking Americans count on to help put food on the table for their families,” President Obama said in a statement after the vote.
The vote in the Senate was 68-32. A liberal group of lawmakers voted against the legislation in opposition to $8 billion in food stamp cuts while some conservatives voted against it because it did not cut them enough, the Post said.
