White House Threatens Veto Of House Farm Bill

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 from food stamps and make it harder for some people to qualify for the program. That is around 3 percent of current spending.

The Obama administration said in a statement that food stamps are "a cornerstone of our nation's food assistance safety net.'' The White House argued that the House should make deeper cuts to farm subsidies like crop insurance instead. The bill, which costs nearly $100 billion a year, would save a total of about $4 billion annually, including the food stamp cuts.