Racehorses, rum, honeybees: The surprises in the budget bill

Doctors. Honeybees. A small Christian college in Kentucky. Racehorses. The rum industry. The Federal Reserve. Livestock producers. Advocates of nuclear energy. Critics of the federal budget process. They all got a piece of the massive budget bill. Born of bipartisanship and propelled by a “must-pass” urgency, the measure, which includes disaster relief and stopgap spending, has been loaded up with little-noticed deals for lawmakers’ favorite causes. The list includes:The revival of tax credits for maintaining short-distance railroad tracks that feed long-haul routes, tax breaks for producing rum and write-downs for racehorses and auto-racing venues. Renewal of a tax deduction for mortgage insurance and a tax credit for miner rescue teams.A win for the American Medical Association and other doctor groups, who persuaded senators to drop a provision that would have let the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shift Medicare money from high-paying specialties to more primary care services or implement an across-the-board cut. Two provisions that appear aimed at protecting colleges in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state. One would shield Berea College, a small Christian college that serves low-income students, from a new tax on wealthy university endowments by exempting schools that don't charge tuition. Another is narrowly crafted student default language that appears to apply only to Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.In the disaster aid portion of the bill, forgiveness of loans made to four historically black colleges and universities in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.A provision secured by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) to remove a $125,000 cap on payments to livestock producers under the Livestock Indemnity Program and to expand it to cover animals sold at a lower price in the event of a natural disaster.A $20 million annual cap on the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-Raised Fish program that would be lifted.