Senator Chuck Grassley is renewing his fight for farm bill payment limits—a fight he lost in 2015 and again in the 2018 farm bill. Grassley insists the present farm safety net is broken.
“More than 70percent of the subsidies from Title I programs go to the largest 10 percent of the farmers.”
Grassley will renew his payment limits push at a Senate farm bill hearing this week.
“At the hearing, I’ll discuss a recent Government Accountability Office report that found that the Department of Agriculture didn’t routinely review FSA operations, to ensure payments are only going to those who are, quote, unquote, ‘actively engaged.’”
Not simply entities set up by relatives or others to enrich themselves. Grassley says it’s all about protecting taxpayers and the nation’s food supply.
“Monitoring this data is vital to protecting taxpayers’ dollars, and preserving the nation’s farm safety net. In the upcoming farm bill, Congress also needs to get serious about spending. That means closing the ‘spigot’ of taxpayer subsidies to our nation’s wealthiest farmers—that’s where payment limitations comes in.”
Grassley hasn’t decided yet if he’ll again propose a $250,000 payment cap per married farming couple, or some other figure, but argues current loopholes must end.
