Senate passes $100B sweeping farm bill

WASHINGTON -- The sweeping farm bill that Congress sent to President Barack Obama yesterday has something for almost everyone, from the nation's 47 million food stamp recipients to Southern peanut growers, Midwest corn farmers and the maple syrup industry in the Northeast.

After years of setbacks, the Senate passed the nearly $100-billion-a-year measure on a 68-32 vote. The House passed it last week.

The bill provides a financial cushion for farmers who face unpredictable weather and market conditions, along with subsidies for rural communities and environmentally-sensitive land.

But the bulk of its cost is for the food stamp program, which aids 1 in 7 Americans. The bill would cut food stamps by $800 million a year, or around 1 percent.

The bill would get rid of controversial subsidies known as direct payments, which are paid to farmers whether they farm or not.

But most of that program's $4.5 billion annual cost was redirected into new, more politically defensible subsidies that would kick in when a farmer has losses. -- AP