11-11-13 petri upset over farm payouts to billionaires

U.S. Representatives Tom Petri (R-WI), Ron Kind (D-WI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), continued to call for major reforms to current farm subsidy policy in the wake of a report released this week that details a long list of billionaires who are profiting from taxpayer-funded farm subsidies.  The report, released by the research and advocacy organization Environmental Working Group (EWG), found that the federal government paid $11.3 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies to 50 billionaires (or businesses in which they have an ownership stake) between 1995 and 2012. EWG compiled the list by matching their Farm Subsidy Database with the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans. According to the list, the billionaires who received these farm subsidies have a collective net worth estimated to be $316 billion. “This report highlights the need to close these loopholes by having a means testing component,” said Rep. Petri. “We can’t really blame billionaires for taking advantage of these subsidies because the current rules allow it.  But giving subsidies to those who don’t need it costs the taxpayers millions each year.  So, I think we need to take a good look at the program to make sure small, family farmers who truly need the assistance have that safety net and those who don’t need the assistance are no longer eligible.”

EWG states that the total amount of farm subsidies sent to the billionaires is likely to be much higher because many of them also received crop insurance subsidies; the names of the recipients of those payments are not disclosed by law.