Heritage Action head calls for farm bill extension

{mosads}House leaders are crafting a new food stamp bill with $40 billion in cuts over 10 years, twice the cuts made in the failed farm bill. They had hoped to pass that with conservative support in September and possibly reconcile the measure in conference committee with the Senate’s farm bill, which has $4 billion in food stamp cuts.

Needham’s comments signal that his group could oppose that effort.

He said that a conference with the Senate is “probably likely to happen” even though he prefers an extension.

He admonished the GOP for failing to get rid of corporate farm subsidies.

Opponents of a one-year farm bill note that an extension would keep the direct-payment program in place. Both the Senate and House farm bills eliminate the program and offer less-costly crop insurance and price-based payments instead.