CONGRESSMAN SPURNS SNAP, TAKES FARM SUBSIDY

 

A Tennessee Congressman who supports billion of dollars in SNAP cuts is one of the largest recipients of federal farm subsides. Representative Stephen Fincher, a Republican and farmer from Frog Jump, Tenn., collected nearly $3.5 million in subsidies from 1999 to 2012, $70,000 in 2012 alone. It is unclear how much Fincher received in crop insurance subsidies because the names of subsidy recipients are not public. During debate on the farm bill in the House Agriculture Committee last week, Mr. Fincher was one of the biggest proponents of $20 billion in cuts to SNAP. “We have to remember there is not a big printing press in Washington that continually prints money over and over,” Mr. Fincher said during the debate. “This is other people’s money that Washington is appropriating and spending.”

 

Source: New York Times, 5/23/13, Farm Subsidy