Crop Insurance Subsidies Prove Cutting Budget Is Easier Said Than Done

"WASHINGTON — In April, Republicans newly in control of Congress celebrated their agreement on a plan to save $5 trillion — that’s trillion, with a 'T' — and balance the budget in a decade. 'We continue to get things done for the American people,' boasted the House speaker at the time, John A. Boehner.

Yet as the year closes, Congress instead is planning to repeal one of the few spending cuts it has passed into law since approving that budget resolution: $3 billion over a decade from subsidies for crop insurers.

That’s billion, with a 'B,' and just 0.06 percent of the promised $5 trillion total. Republican leaders agreed to hold a vote next month to delete the savings after lawmakers from agricultural states complained that the cut would hurt farmers."

Jackie Calmes reports for the New York Times November 26, 2015.