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Using Agriculture Department data, researchers at the Environmental Working Group found that Representative Stephen Fincher, a Republican and a farmer from Frog Jump, Tenn., collected nearly $3.5 million in subsidies from 1999 to 2012. The data is part of the research group’s online farm subsidy database from which the group issues a report each year.

In 2012 alone, the data shows, Mr. Fincher received about $70,000 in direct payments, money that is given to farmers and farmland owners, even if they do not grow crops. It is unclear how much Mr. Fincher received in crop insurance subsidies because the names of people receiving the subsidies are not public. The group said most of the agriculture subsidies go to the largest, most profitable farm operations in the country. These farmers have received $265 billion in direct payments and farm insurance subsidies since 1995, federal records show.

During debate on the farm bill in the House Agriculture Committee last week, Mr. Fincher was one of the biggest proponents of $20 billion in cuts to food stamps in the legislation. At times he quoted passages from the Bible in defending the cuts.

“We have to remember there is not a big printing press in Washington that continually prints money over and over,” Mr. Fincher said during the debate. “This is other people’s money that Washington is appropriating and spending.”

Scott Faber, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, said that Mr. Fincher was being hypocritical. “Not only is he advocating deep cuts to other people’s money while he is getting subsidies, he also voted to increase the subsidies that he benefits from,” Mr. Faber said.

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GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America's National Council has voted to ease a long-standing ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted as Scouts.

Of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal.

Under the proposal drafted by the Scouts' governing board, gay adults will remain barred from serving as Scout leaders.

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Washington (CNN) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill on Tuesday, sending the measure to the Senate floor for consideration and giving the bill's backers their first major legislative victory.

Members of the Democratic-controlled panel voted 13-5 in favor of the measure. If enacted, the plan would constitute the first overhaul of the nation's immigration policy since 1986.

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The measure approved by the Judiciary panel would create a 13-year path to citizenship for most of the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants.

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Apple may be one of the nation's richest companies, but it did so by avoiding billions in taxes here and around the world. Congressional investigators found that the tech giant created "a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen," relying on "gimmicks" and "schemes" to sidestep tax laws.

This has generated a fair amount of bipartisan criticism, though Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) doesn't seem bothered. In fact, he wants the Senate to apologize to Apple for bothering the company.





Paul not only endorsed Apple's tax-avoidance schemes, but condemned Congress itself for daring to question the company's efforts to circumvent international tax burdens. The Kentucky Republican said he's "offended by the tone and tenor of this hearing," and lamented the very idea of "berating" a company just because it's taken unprecedented steps to avoid meeting its responsibilities, largely by creating shell companies abroad with no real employees.

"If anyone should be on trial here, it should be Congress," Paul declared. "I frankly think the committee should apologize to Apple.... I would say what we really need to do is to apologize to Apple, compliment them for the job creation they are doing, and get about doing our job.

Nearly three years ago, after much of the country -- and much of Congress -- was condemning BP for the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)apologized to the oil giant, saying it was wrong for Washington to try to hold the company responsible for its failures.
And now, it's Rand Paul wanting to apologize to Apple for questioning its tax-avoidance schemes. Amazing.

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