(Host) Farmers could earn an extra $1.50 for every hundred pounds of milk they produce under a plan offered by Senator Bernie Sanders.
The Senate added the provision this week to an agriculture appropriations bill.
Sanders says he doesn’t think the proposal is a long-term solution to the economic crisis on the farm. But he says it’s the best he could accomplish.
(Sanders) "This was, we thought, the faster and more politically popular route, if we needed to get 60 votes, which we did. But, ultimately, this made sense from a national perspective, trying to get votes from California and the Southwest and the Midwest as well."
(Host) The proposal Sanders wrote would boost the amount that the U.S. Agriculture Department pays for surplus powder milk and cheddar cheese.
That money would be in addition to an increase announced last week by the USDA.
Sanders says his amendment will be part of negotiations between the House and Senate on the agriculture appropriations bill.