WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2014 – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the most recent estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that the payment-limit provisions he wants included in the farm bill would save $387 million over 10 years, or $210 million more than previous estimates.
Grassley asked the CBO to rescore the provisions he’s included in the Senate farm bill after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended in October that payment limits in the legislation could help fix payment loopholes.
Grassley’s plan would cap commodity program payments at $250,000 for a farming couple. It also limits the number of managers from a single farm able to claim payments, narrowing the “actively engaged” definition in current language. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., included similar language in the House-passed farm bill.
Grassley released the latest estimate today as negotiations to find compromise between the House and Senate on a final farm bill may put the payment limits provision at risk.
“The majority of Congress backs these provisions and the last two presidents have been supportive of significant reform like this,” Grassley said in a statement. “It would be short-sighted to allow a parochial mindset to undermine important and necessary reforms.”
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