In the interests of reducing the federal deficit, a house committee voted to reduce farm subsidies from the federal budget so that only farmers who make $250,000 or less annually receive funding from the government.
This cuts away at direct payments that are made to farmers regardless of how much they sell or how much they charge for their crops. The government pays farmers about $5 billion a year in these subsidies.
Farm subsides were recently challenged by some Democrats (including President Obama) and conservatives because farm subsides were spared cuts from previous budget proposals. Opponents of farm subsidies argue that if domestic feeding programs and foreign food aid were reduced in the federal budget, then farm subsidies to farmers who make over $250,000 annually should be, too.
Historically, farm subsidies have enjoyed aggressive bipartisan support as representatives have fought to protect their home state's agriculture industry.