May 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a five-year, $289 billion farm bill with enough votes to override a presidential veto, making it more likely to become law.

The plan to boost food aid for the poor and keep U.S. farm subsidies largely intact was approved 318-106 in the House, more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto threatened yesterday by President George W. Bush. The president said the plan exceeds spending guidelines, distorts trade and subsidizes farmers as crop prices reach records.

``We did our work in the House,'' House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, told reporters in Washington after today's vote. ``We presented a strong bipartisan vote. The administration has their function. Whatever decision they make, we'll deal with it.''

The Senate may vote on the package as soon as tomorrow, sending the bill to Bush by May 20. The Bush administration prefers a one-year extension of the current law, passed in 2002. The law expired Sept. 30 and has been extended five times, with the latest continuation set to end May 16.

Should Bush veto the bill, Congress would attempt an override before adjourning for the May 26 Memorial Day holiday, Peterson said.

Veto Threat

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer reiterated the administration's threat after the vote.

``The bill passed today is a farm bill in name only,'' Schafer said in a statement. ``It does not target help for farmers who really need it, and it increases the cost and size of government.''

After the farm bill vote, the House approved another one- week extension of current law to May 23, with Senate passage expected tonight or tomorrow.

The veto may overturned by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress. Based on current membership, an override would take 289 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate. The House farm bill passed in July received 231 votes, while the Senate's package received 79.

The bill's biggest expense is food aid, which takes up about 74 percent of the spending plan, Peterson said. Subsidies to growers of wheat, cotton and other crops would cover about 16 percent of the expense.

Ethanol Tax Credits

The law reduces a tax credit for blenders of ethanol into gasoline from 51 cents to 45 cents a gallon. A surge in demand for ethanol made from corn has contributed to record prices for the grain.

Reducing the tax credit was favored by companies such as Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the largest U.S. poultry producer, and Tyson Foods Inc., the world's biggest meatpacker, which say subsidies for crop-based fuels push up the price of corn used primarily to feed livestock.

The bill also extends a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on imports of biofuels until 2012, including sugar-based ethanol from Brazil. Government support for the ethanol industry has generated opposition from lawmakers who blame the fuel for food inflation.

The bill ``benefits one set of farmers at the expense of another,'' Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, said on the House floor before the vote. ``It's not too good for the cattle ranchers or the poultry people.''

The plan also lowers taxes for companies including Weyerhaeuser Co., North America's largest timber producer, and reauthorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, ending the so-called ``Enron loophole'' by extending regulatory power over electronic trading on energy markets.

Crop Subsidies

The bill does not meet White House desires for reduced subsidies for growers of sugar, cotton and other crops or place limits on payments to wealthy farmers.

Bush had asked for a $200,000 cap on payments to farm owners. The bill would end payments to individuals with more than $500,000 of non-farm income and end direct payments made regardless of price to producers with more than $750,000 in farm income. Because of loopholes, the new law would pay some farmers who make more than $1.5 million a year, he said.

The president also objects to a sugar-to-ethanol program in which the government would buy surplus sweetener from producers for resale to biofuel plants, according Bush's statement yesterday. In total, the bill would increase government spending by $20 billion over 10 years, more than double what Congress estimates, he said.

Safety Net

House and Senate leaders say the bill preserves a necessary safety net for America's farmers.

That was enough to overcome the concerns of some lawmakers who said they opposed many farm programs while voting for the bill in the interests of their districts. ``Half a loaf is better than no loaf,'' said Representative Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican.

Under Congress's plan, a trust fund for farmers who lose crops to disasters will cost $950 million a year. It also includes required funding for projects related to fruit and vegetable growers for the first time.

Food Labeling

The bill states that beef, lamb, pork, chicken and goat meat, along with fruits and vegetables, peanuts and macadamia nuts, must be labeled by their country of origin by Sept. 30. It also provides $10 million annually into research on pollinators and Colony Collapse Disorder, the malady of unknown cause that has killed billions of U.S honeybees since 2006.

International commodity-aid programs, a growing concern because of global food inflation, also receive more money. A four-year pilot program to buy food for emergency aid from farmers in the country where the help is needed is funded at $15 million annually. The bill provides $84 million over the bill's lifetime for the McGovern-Dole program for school lunches in developing nations.

Farm bills, passed about every five years, authorize U.S. Department of Agriculture spending including crop subsidies and conservation programs. Farm payments encourage production, lowering raw-materials costs for companies including Bunge Ltd., the largest U.S. soybean crusher, and Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world's largest grain processor.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Bjerga in Washington at abjerga@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 14, 2008 18:30 EDT