5 Apr 2011 9:04 pm
Teabagger Congressman Stephen Fincher [R-TN], spoke out against government spending and bailouts during his congressional campaign last year.Fincher applied for and received a $13,650 grant from the state Department of Agriculture in 2009.The state grant is in addition to federal farm subsidies of at least $3.2 million he and his wife have received over the last 10 years.In a speech Fincher gave at the University of Tennessee last year he said that he was running for Congress to 'stop the out-of-control spending' and he also said that we have too many stimulus bills and too many bailouts.Fincher is one of almost two dozen members of Congress who receive farm subsidies.The Environmental Working Group has determined that at least 23 representatives and senators or their family members applied for farm subsidy payments between 1995 and 2009. Seventeen of the named recipients were Republicans and six were Democrats. In total, the GOP took in more than $5.3 million, compared to only $489,856 for Democrats.The biggest beneficiaries of farm subsidies in the current Congress have been: Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tennessee) $3,368,843 Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Missouri) $469,292 Rep. Kristi Noem (R-South Dakota) $443,748 Sen. John Tester (D-Montana) $442,303 Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) $330,046Fincher, a self-described Tea Party patriot, who lists his occupation as "farmer" and "gospel singer" in the Congressional Directory, did not directly say whether he would continue to take subsidies, when asked by ABC News."We need a good, better, we need a better farm program and we need to streamline it," he said. "We need to look at many many options. And that's a long way off."Almost Two Dozen Congressmen Receive Farm SubsidiesWhy is that a long way off Congressman Fincher? Why can't you add that into Paul Ryan's budget plan for 2012?