In the News

Taxpayers Turn U.S. Farmers Into Fat Cats With Crop Subsidies

A Depression-era program intended to save the nation’s farmers from ruin has grown into a 21st-century crutch enabling affluent growers and...

11 Trillion Reasons

Here is a good line: Unenlightened farm policy with its massive subsidies for junk food ingredients has played a pivotal role in shaping our...

Antiquated U.S. farm policy fiscally foolish

In June, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives rejected, 195-234, a trillion-dollar farm bill that included agriculture...

Rep. Ted Yoho entangled in dispute over farm bill

The farm bill making its way through Congress includes a significant change — away from direct payments and toward crop insurance — in the...

The big insurance gamble for farmers and taxpayers

For the past 46 years Richard Barber has coaxed peanuts from the earth in western Marion County, but it wasn't until last year that for the...

All In W/ Chris Hayes: House passes Farm Bill with zero Democratic votes

Watch All In with Chris Hayes for the latest on the battle in Washington over food stamps and the Farm Bill, as the House passed a new...

Farm bill: Divided

Concerned about ever-increasing federal food stamp spending and the incentives it affords to the poor, conservatives in the House of...

Program promoting U.S.-grown foods divides California Republicans

WASHINGTON — In this era of federal austerity, appetites are souring over spending taxpayer money on dinner parties in India featuring...

RYAN ALEXANDER: House farm bill worsens government waste

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Remember when the House rejected a trillion-dollar version of the farm bill a month ago? I predicted the subsidy...

How to Achieve Real Farm Bill Reform

A lot has been written about the initial failure of the farm bill to pass the House of Representatives in June, and the passage last week of...

GOP’s cruel intentions

Last week, we saw the full measure of Republican cruelty. Discarding decades of precedent, the House GOP stripped the nation’s food stamp...

House Speaker John Boehner says rushed farm bill was nearly the same as old one

House Republicans rushed a new farm bill to a vote last week. But it wasn’t really all that new, Speaker John Boehner argued. Sure,...

House Republicans finally pass a farm bill — with no money for food stamps

After a failed attempt earlier, the House GOP has finally passed legislation to fund U.S. farm policy for the next five years. The only...

House OKs farm bill - but leaves out food stamps

After two embarrassing failures to pass a farm bill, usually a popular bipartisan exercise marrying crop subsidies with food stamps, House...

House farm bill leaves food stamps in limbo

House Republicans achieved the elusive goal of passing a farm bill Thursday by slicing federal support for food programs from the bill,...

Stripped-down farm bill passes U.S. House

Republicans narrowly pushed through a farm bill stripped of nutrition programs on Thursday in a raucous session marked by Democratic charges...

Farm bill 2013: House narrowly passes pared-back version

The House narrowly passed a pared-back farm bill Thursday after Republican leaders stripped out the nutrition title — affecting food...

New House farm bill cuts $12.9B, CBO finds

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Thursday released a new score on the split farm bill. The CBO said that the bill...

House to vote on farm bill in big test for Boehner, Republican leaders

The House will vote Thursday on a new farm bill in a major test for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the rest of the House GOP leadership...

Is it time for food stamps to come out of the farm bill?

Remember this chart about the contents of the House farm bill? As you can see, the farm bill isn’t purely a “farm” bill. About 80...

Farm bill support frays amid tight money, shifting alliances

For decades, Congress rolled food stamps and farm subsidies together into one giant bill. The tactic generated lots of rural and urban votes...

Leaders Struggle to Find Votes for Farm Bill Without Food Stamps

House GOP leaders’ plan to strip food stamps from the farm bill ran into trouble Tuesday when it failed to win over conservative groups who...

Anti-spending groups hostile to farm bill stances of Tennessee Republicans

Tennessee's congressional Republicans usually find themselves on the same page as think tanks and advocacy organizations that call for...

Fight Over Genetically Modified Salmon Looms in Agriculture Spending Bill

The Alaska delegation could advance its fight against the commercial production of genetically modified salmon if the fiscal 2014 Senate...

Ohio farmers glum after U.S. House plows under farm bill

The House dealt a surprising defeat yesterday to a five-year, nearly $1 trillion bill regulating farm programs — a blow to Ohio farmers who...

Fiscal group enraged by limits on House farm bill amendments

Deficit hawks at Taxpayers for Common Sense are enraged Wednesday by limits imposed by the House Rules Committee on farm bill...

House to Consider 100-Plus Farm Bill Amendments; Passage May Slip to Next Week

The House launched into debate of more than 100 amendments to the farm bill Wednesday, but there were signs that final passage might be...

Farm bill’s subsidy for sugar under pressure

Tucked into a sweeping $1 trillion farm bill being debated in the U.S. House this week and next is a provision that may define the future of...

Shocking House leaders, chamber soundly defeats farm bill

The House today delivered a blow to farm-state lawmakers and GOP leaders, voting down a Republican-sponsored five-year farm bill in a...

Politics drives farm bill policy

The U.S. farm subsidy program can be an important tool in stabilizing crop prices and ensuring a consistent food supply. The federal program...

Opposition to House Farm Bill Spans Political Spectrum

As the House prepares to vote this week on a new five-year farm bill, advocacy groups from across the political spectrum are lining up to...

Fraud Used to Frame Farm Bill Debate

Jimmy Thomas Sasser stood in silence in February as a federal judge sentenced him to four years in prison. For more than a decade,...

Farm bill cuts judged both too much, not enough

A year after they failed to pass a farm bill and suffered for it in several big congressional races, House Republicans think they’ve finally...

Sushi Aid in $1 Trillion Agriculture Bill Angers Watchdogs

Tucked deep in the 1,198-page U.S. House agriculture policy legislation is an initiative to guarantee prices for sushi rice. So too is...

Boehner decides to support farm bill

Speaker of the House John Boehner on Wednesday pledged his support for the farm bill scheduled to come to the House floor next week — a...

The farm bill, food stamps, and the future of crop subsidies

This week, the Senate passed a five-year, half-trillion dollar farm bill on a bi-partisan 66-27 vote. Now, it's on to the House of...

John Boehner: Time is right to bring latest farm bill to House floor

After punting last year on a farm bill, House Speaker John A. Boehner said Monday he will bring his chamber’s 2013 version to the floor this...

Letter: Redirect tax dollars to those most in need

I don't think anyone would dispute the claim of the May 31 letter "CA editorial got it wrong" that the SNAP program suffers from fraud and...

Senate’s new farm bill will waste billions on subsidies, critics say

To deficit hawks and critics of American farm policy, they are a clear example of wasteful government spending, lavishly rewarding farmers...

The Senate is voting on a $955 billion farm bill. Here’s what’s in it.

On Monday evening, the Senate will vote on a massive farm bill that will set the course of U.S. food policy for the next decade. The old...

Crop insurance push made for conservation requirements

Rep. Mike Thompson wants the subsidized coverage to require compliance for eligibility. Among the differences between the current...

Changes to dairy subsidies may take Boston out of equation

WASHINGTON — No one would mistake Boston for a bovine bastion. So it may come as a shock that the eyes of the nation’s dairy farmers are...

Rep. Mike Thompson wants crop insurance to require conservation

One of the big drawbacks of federally subsidized crop insurance — the new mode for subsidizing farmers — is that it has detached...

Lobbyists for Banks to Beet Farms Feast on $1 Trillion Farm Law

After his side lost a fight over federal sugar aid in the Senate last month, Bob Simpson, the president of Jelly Belly Candy Co. of...

House members push alternative farm bill that cuts subsidies

As the House and Senate tackle competing versions of the farm reform bill, two congressmen from Wisconsin are proposing an alternative bill...

Farm Bill: How to Grow Almost Anything Risk Free

Congress is attempting to pass major farm legislation this year after failing in 2012 amid the hard-fought congressional and presidential...

Congress Poised To Make Crop Insurance Subsidies More Generous

For decades, farmers have been getting checks from the federal government as part of a safety net to help protect against, for instance, the...

Senators fight to cut more farm bill spending

Senators critical of the level of spending in the giant $955 billion farm bill are fighting for floor votes after the Memorial Day recess on...

Faking farm savings;  It’s a time-honored tradition in Washington to do as little as possible and look good while (not) doing it

Sometimes it appears common sense and reality can't penetrate the Capitol's marble-lined walls. This financially costly phenomenon struck...

Bid to end crop insurance subsidy for tobacco worries burley growers

Kentucky tobacco growers are up in arms over a new proposal to eliminate federal crop insurance programs for tobacco. On Monday, Sen....

Senators target tobacco crop insurance subsidy

Taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance for tobacco production would be eliminated under a farm-bill amendment introduced Monday by U.S. Sens....

The Farm Bill Trough Is Opening Again

Sooey! That old-fashioned farmer's call, meant to summon hogs to the trough, is also an appropriate warning signal for taxpayers and...

The long-term effects of corn ethanol subsidies

On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a massive five-year farm bill. It would cut spending but also create new subsidies for...

Conservative groups: Sugar program must go

Leading conservative groups, including Americans for Tax Reform and Club for Growth, are calling for an end to the federal government's...

More of the Same Wasteful Farm Bill Spending

About a year ago, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a new, five-year farm bill, well in advance of the last bill's expiration date of...

CCAGW Signs Letter to Hill on Dairy Reform Gone Sour

WASHINGTON — Yesterday, Tom Schatz, President of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), issued a letter to the both the...

TCS Participates in Roundtable “The Truth Behind The Farm Bill”

On Wednesday May 8, 2013, Taxpayers for Common Sense Senior Policy Analyst Joshua Sewell participated in the panel discussion: FreedomWorks...

Farm product subsidies are criticized

U.S. taxpayers spent nearly $7 million last year promoting California wine overseas, and millions of dollars more to advertise agricultural...

I-Team 10 investigation: Subsidies a cash crop for farmers

  For years, farmers have been getting taxpayer subsidies in the way of direct payments from the government, even in years when they...

A Reasonable Food Fight

President Barack Obama wants to revamp Washington’s global food aid system. His 2014 budget request would transfer much of the program from...

A Perfect Storm of Wildlife Habitat Loss—and How to Stop It

Bob Marshall recently described on this blog how the biofuels mandate from the Bush administration has had an unpleasant result: the...

Letter: Crop insurance is not a safety net, but a hammock

ENID, Okla. — A March 26 Enid News & Eagle editorial, “Crop insurance simply is the cost of doing business,” claims that federal crop...

New Estimates Question Savings from Farm Bills

Farm bills passed by the full Senate and the House Agriculture Committee in 2012 would cost billions more this year if they were enacted...

Conservatives call for big cut in U.S. crop insurance subsidy

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - A coalition of fiscal conservatives on Tuesday called for a steep cut in federal subsidies for crop...

Congress listening more to Renewable Fuel Standard opponents

Thomas Elam has made his voice heard as the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard is in the midst of a 45-day...

TCS: Trim the farm bill and cut oil subsidies

This month, 13 groups sent a letter to Congress identifying budget savings worth $100 billion over the next decade. They would draw from the...

Controversial motor fuel with more ethanol raises concerns

Although some motorists might not realize it, the gasoline they’re putting into their vehicles is 10 percent ethanol. Since 2010 Florida...

Hill Briefing Shreds Renewable Fuel Standard

This morning I attended a briefing on “The Renewable Fuel Standard: Pitfalls, Challenges, and the Need for Congressional Action in 2013.”...

Fiscal reform needs accountability, less agency overlap

Government fiscal reform needs to come in the form of accountability, prioritizing by need and training if long term success is to be seen,...

NMMA makes case to Congress on fuel standard

The National Marine Manufacturers Association made its case with several other groups Tuesday to federal lawmakers on the negative impact of...

Farmers, environmentalists await seventh analysis of 60-year-old Mississippi levee plan

An engineering project introduced during the Eisenhower administration may be carried out during the Obama administration, but with no more...

Analyst warns of RFS threat to US poultry industry

A US analyst has warned that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is causing the cost of chicken and turkey to rocket, leaving many producers...

Ag Economist Urges Congress to Begin Extensive Reform of RFS

"The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is broken, but Congress can fix the rule by acting now and opening an inclusive, robust debate that leads...

Coalition seeks fuel standard repeal through legislation

A coalition of groups seeking to reform or repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates the use of biofuels such as ethanol, is...

Congress Urged to Begin Extensive Reform of RFS

US - "The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is broken, but Congress can fix the rule by acting now and opening an inclusive, robust debate that...

Strange bedfellows unite for Hill fight over renewable fuels policy

A strange-bedfellow coalition of environmentalists, hunger advocates, oil refiners and boat manufacturers is taking to Capitol Hill to push...

Rep. Earl Blumenauer says cutting direct subsidies to farmers would save $28.4 billion over 10 years

Rep. Earl Blumenauer says ending the direct payment farm subsidy program "could save up to $28.4 billion over ten years that could be used...

AGRIBUSINESS: RFS opponents launch new Hill campaign

  A coalition of opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard held a telephone news conference today to announce they are launching a new...

Ethanol slowdown not enough, say mandate critics

Never in the history of corn-based ethanol have so many Nebraska ethanol plants been idle. “This would be the largest drop we’ve ever...

Strange bedfellows unite to bash RFS

The country’s Renewable Fuel Standard has done something few things in Washington can: bring together a diverse set of interests for a...

Unusual allies fight renewable fuel standard

Humanitarians, environmentalists, farmers’ advocates and refiners on Monday came together to demand changes to a renewable fuel mandate they...

Sen. Murkowski backs calls to reevaluate biofuel mandate

The Senate Energy Committee’s top Republican said Monday that she is “in good company” with congressional calls to reevaluate a...

ACE responds to Big Oil’s ethanol, RFS criticism

The Environmental Working Group joined a variety of other organizations today to call for the reform of the renewable fuel standard (RFS),...

Stand Up for the RFS; Don’t Forget to Comment

The petroleum industry is continuing its campaign to dismantle and repeal the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The Environmental Working...

Farm Bill’s Corporate Welfare Is Unacceptable

One of the lesser discussed components of the recent fiscal cliff deal was a nine month extension of the farm bill, a trillion dollar piece...

United States of Crisis Seen Costing Jobs, Wasting Money

With the stroke of his pen the day after New Year’s, President Barack Obama extended a $5 billion farm subsidy program that he opposes and...

Record Taxpayer Cost Is Seen for Crop Insurance

WASHINGTON — The worst drought in 50 years could leave taxpayers with a record bill of nearly $16 billion in crop insurance costs because of...

USDA agency’s largesse grows crop insurance

Most Americans have never heard of the Risk Management Agency, but the obscure Agriculture Department office spreads good cheer and millions...

DC Watch: Farm bill unlikely to be part of fiscal cliff efforts

With the clock ticking down to the end of the year, there is still no agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)...

Nearly 50 percent of Americans get federal benefits

 Thousands of Idahoans rely on money from the federal government for health, retirement or just to stay out of poverty. That dependence is...

Study Says Farm Bills Would Add to, Not Cut, Deficit

 For weeks, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have lobbied for their stalled farm bills that cut farm and food program...

Coalition urges approval of a farm subsidy

A bipartisan coalition of senators representing almost a third of the chamber is pressing party leaders to include a long-delayed farm...

AG NEWS 12/13/2012

“Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated Reviewing Contract” At the annual joint meeting of the Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated, Jay...

Groups Opposed to Farm Bill Inclusion in Fiscal Cliff Deal Speak Out

Some farm groups and lawmakers would like to see a farm bill included as part of any legislation written to avert the fiscal cliff. But the...

150 million reasons it’s hard to cut spending

WASHINGTON -- Don't mess with Big Bird. And don't even think about touching Medicare. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney ran into...

Good case that farm bill would add to deficit

A piece from Ron Nixon in The Washington Post is worth reading because it takes a crack at the conventional wisdom that a farm bill will cut...

Libertarian and environmental groups unite against five-year farm bill

WASHINGTON -- Conservative and taxpayer groups joined the Environmental Working Group (EWG) today to oppose passage of a five-year farm bill...

Conservatives, Environmentalists Find Common Cause Against Tying Farm Bill To Fiscal Cliff

WASHINGTON — Although they may be natural enemies in the modern, legislative landscape of Washington, environmentalists and fiscal...

5-year farm bill could impact fiscal cliff talks

WASHINGTON — Many politicians and experts view the fiscal cliff as a looming economic crisis, but to those backing a new farm bill, it also...

Snake-Oil Deficit Savings

Like things you spot in your side-view mirror, many of the budget numbers flitting around the debt talks are larger than they appear....

Happy Thanksgiving! How much did your tax dollars underwrite the feast?

Nearly 400 years ago, at the very first Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony, Native Americans and pilgrims dined together on a meal of deer,...

Nearly all of ag wants farm bill action

On Tuesday, the day that Congress starts its lame-duck session, 235 groups representing nearly every facet of agriculture sent a letter to...

Joint Op-Ed: Pass a fiscally responsible Farm Bill extension

Written By: Steve Ellis, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group It’s too late for Congress to pass a...

U.S can’t afford giveaways for mining, oil companies

U.S can't afford giveaways for mining, oil companies Written by Ryan Alexander    Thursday, 04 October 2012 14:51 When you're in a...

You can reduce the deficit without touching entitlements. But that won’t make it more popular.

You can reduce the deficit without touching entitlements. But that won’t make it more popular. The Washington Post Posted by Suzy Khimm...

Ryan Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense, discusses how the U.S. could avoid the fiscal cliff with cuts almost twice the size of sequestration.

How to Avoid Fiscal Cliff With Less Pain CNBC Mon 01 Oct 12 | 04:50 PM ET Ryan Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense, discusses how the...

How to cut $2 trillion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense

How to cut $2 trillion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense Washington Business Journal Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 6:20am...

Fiscal Cliff: Candidates Fiddle While America Does a Slow Burn

Fiscal Cliff: Candidates Fiddle While America Does a Slow Burn October 2, 2012   “Continued split government is just one reason to...

Taxpayer group maps out an escape plan for 2013’s ‘fiscal cliff’

Taxpayer group maps out an escape plan for 2013's 'fiscal cliff' By Erik Wasson - 10/01/12 12:42 PM ET   The nonpartisan Taxpayers for...

US group urges $2 trillion alternative to fiscal cliff “time bomb”

US  group urges 2 trillion altenative to fiscal cliff "time bomb" By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON | Sun Sep 30, 2012 4:55pm EDT (Reuters)...

Bipartisan “Green Scissors” Campaign Aims to Save the Environment—and Taxpayer Dollars

By Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss Dear EarthTalk: What is the “Green Scissors” campaign, which I understand can help the environment and has...

Green Scissors for Congress

When you’re in a hole, you stop digging. And when you’ve got a $1.3-trillion deficit and $15.7 trillion in debt, you’ve got to start...

Split Among House Republicans Over How Deeply to Cut May Delay Farm Bill (New York Times)

By Ron Nixon WASHINGTON — The first major overhaul of the nation’s nutrition and farm program is in jeopardy because of a split in the ranks...

Greening the Federal Budget - and Saving a Bundle

June 27, 2012 -- A leading environmental group, a centrist taxpayer watchdog and a libertarian small-government think tank on Tuesday...

Farm Bill yields mixed crop of gains and losses for Garden State (Asbury Park Press)

By MICHELE S. BYERS After two years of debate, Congress passed the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, otherwise known as the Farm...

Bountiful Harvest: Farm lobby Beats Back Assault on Subsidies

Wall Street Journal By LAUREN ETTER and GREG HITT March 27, 2008; Page A1 With grain prices soaring, farm income at record highs and...

Syria: Excuse 535 To Not Cut the Deficit

Volume XVIII No. 37 Possible action in Syria has become the most recent excuse du jour for Pentagon boosters...