Senate Debates Cuts to Farm Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is debating cuts to the federal crop insurance program as it considers a massive farm bill this week. The Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to agriculture subsidies and crop insurance in the legislation, which would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years and would set policy for farm programs and food aid.

The bill would cut about $2.4 billion annually from overall farm spending. But it would still expand federally subsidized crop insurance and raise some subsidies for rice and peanut farmers. The White House did not specify how large a cut it was seeking. The Senate began debating the bill Monday.