UNDATED (WSAU) The U-S House will vote today on an agriculture spending bill that includes 350-million dollars in new aid for struggling dairy farmers.
Wisconsin Senate Democrat Herb Kohl and House Appropriations Chairman David Obey of Wausau helped convince a conference panel to budget the emergency aid for farmers hurt by low prices. Farmers would get 290-million dollars in direct subsidies. Another 60-million would be spent on cheese and other dairy products for government food programs.
Also, the bill includes funding for after-school meals for needy youngsters. Wisconsin is one of a just few states to get that aid.
Kohl added the provision, as the state is seeing a dramatic increase in kids eligible for free-and-reduced-price school lunches. In Milwaukee, 69-percent of students are eligible for school lunch subsidies – and the recession has caused a seven-percent increase in applications this year. Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force says the proposed after-school meal aid would help about 16-hundred youngsters if it’s approved.
