Between 2003 and 2006
thousands of ineligible multi-millionaires cultivated farm subsidies from the US Agriculture Department. A congressional report shows that a financial firm executive, a professional sports team owner, a former executive of a technology company, and residents of Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom received thousands of dollars of taxpayer money via farm subsidies.
Officials at the Agriculture Department say they're innocent, since the congressional investigators could access IRS records off limits to them.
Harvesting Votes? McCain Opposes Popular Farm Policies Republican presidential candidate John McCain opposes the $300 billion farm bill and subsidies for ethanol, positions that both supporters and opponents say might cost him votes he needs in the upper Midwest this November. Barack Obama is making a more traditional regional pitch: He favors the farm bill approved by Congress this year and subsidies for the Midwest-based ethanol industry.
President Bush is in talks with Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer over the Farm Bill, a five-year, $285 billion bill currently
being considered by Congress. Bush disagrees with the proposed new $3.8 billion farm disaster program as well as new perks for the sugar industry included in the legislation. He also objects to the $10 billion in extra spending and the bill would allow over the measure’s $560 billion, 10-year baseline.
