President Bush's ag budget calls for cuts in farm programs. The budget calls for a 5% across-the-board reduction in direct, counter-cyclical and loan deficiency payments, and a hard cap of $250,000 on crop support payments. It also calls for reduced funding for crop insurance premiums, more cuts for conservation programs, and a bunch of user fees and assessments.
According to the White House budget office, the proposal would cut farm program spending for fiscal 2007 by $1.081 billion from the 2006 level and would result in farm program cuts totaling just under $9 billion over 10 years.
Also, the administration proposes a refocusing of food aid of up to 25% of PL480 “Food for Peace” program funds that could be used to buy food from nearby sellers. In other words, U.S. tax dollars could be used to buy foreign commodities.
It's unlikely, according to The Brock Report, that these ideas will fly in a Congressional election year — especially with the 2002 Farm Bill set to expire in the fall of 2007.