When Is a ‘Cut’ Not a Cut? When Congress Calls It a Cut.
1st August 2012
The 2012 House farm bill has been advertised as a $35 billion spending cut. But what is not advertised is that the 2012 bill will end up costing taxpayers 59 percent more than the 2008 farm bill. So how can this be a cut? It isn’t.The farm bill was projected to cost nearly $1 trillion. So when the House farm bill — which spends slightly less than the Senate-passed bill — was scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to cost $35 billion less than expected, it was cheered as a spending cut. In reality, however, the 2012 House farm bill spends nearly 60% more than our current inefficient farm and food programs. The 2008 farm bill that is currently in law was projected to cost $604 billion, while the 2012 House bill came in at $959 billion. This is not a spending cut.