President Obama will sign the nearly $1 trillion federal farm bill into law when he visits Michigan State University on Friday.
The U.S. Senate passed the farm bill today, ending years of wrangling in Washington over the legislation that provides federal aid to farmers and the nation’s poor.
The sweeping $100-billion-a-year measure won Senate approval Tuesday on a 68-32 vote after House passage last week. The bulk of its cost is for the food stamp program, which aids 1 in 7 Americans.
The White House says Obama will give a speech on the importance of the farm bill to the U.S. economy.
U.S. Sen.Debbie Stabenow of Michigan is the chairman of the agriculture committee. She’s played a pivotal role in crafting the farm bill.
“We increase the funding for research with a new research foundation. And certainly we will be at the home of agricultural research in the country at Michigan State University on Friday,” says Stabenow.
The final bill contains $8 billion in cuts to federal food assistance programs for the poor. That’s a bigger cut than Democrats wanted but far smaller than what Republicans wanted.
