WASHINGTON - The White House is threatening to veto the House version of a massive, five-year farm bill, saying food stamp cuts included in the legislation could leave some Americans hungry. The House is preparing to consider the bill this week. The legislation would cut $2 billion annually, or around 3 per cent, from food stamps and make it harder for some people to qualify for the program. Food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, cost almost $80 billion last year, twice the amount it cost five years ago.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wealthiest 20,000 U.S. farmers should pay more for taxpayer subsidized crop insurance, the Senate voted on Thursday, adopting a measure that blended deficit reduction, populism and farm program reform. Senators approved the amendment by a lopsided 59-33 vote, in defiance of Agriculture Committee leaders. The move would save $1.3 billion over a decade by reducing the premium subsidy for growers with more than $750,000 of adjusted gross income.

DOWNSIZING: The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have laid the groundwork this week for reducing the size of the federal food stamp program, approving farm bills that would shrink the aid and alter the way people qualify for it. BIG CUTS: The House legislation would cut food stamps about $2.5 billion a year, or about 3 per cent. A Senate bill would cut less than a fifth of that amount. Last year more than 47 million people used the program.

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