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 deeper cuts to its subsidies payments.Some of the amendments have a decent chance of passing, proponents say, given the fact the Senate passed a $1 billion cut to crop insurance on Thursday.  The Senate barely passed, by a 59 to 33 vote, a reduction in crop insurance subsidies for those making over $750,000 per year. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jean Shaheen (D-N.H.) are leading the effort to put further limits on the bill’s expanded crop insurance provisions. Toomey and Shaheen have an amendment that would limit crop insurance premium subsidies to $50,000 per crop per year. They estimate the provision would save $3.6 billion...more