USNews.com Jan 28, 2016
On December 15, 2015, 100 members of the House of Representatives (80 of them Republicans) urged the Administration to increase subsidies for cotton farms above and beyond the amounts that were granted in the 2014 Farm Bill. Congress certainly has the legislative authority to amend the Farm Bill and grant more subsidies to any industry. However, even though Republicans are in the majority in both the House and the Senate, this group asked USDA to expand the cotton farmers’ access to subsidies without any new legislation.