President Barack Obama's budget would hit key Oklahoma economic sector

The budget, released Monday, would kill a farm subsidy program that provides an estimated $81 million a year in direct payments to Oklahoma producers, mostly wheat farmers, and cut funding for crop insurance. He also would eliminate some of the tax breaks commonly used by independent oil and gas producers to offset exploration and other expenses.

The budget would end an aircraft modernization contract that employs Boeing Co. engineers scheduled to transfer to Oklahoma City. The president requested no funding for the contract in the next fiscal year; it is due to receive $208 million this year.

The president's budget also asks Congress to approve two rounds of base closures, one next year and another in 2015. Oklahoma has three U.S. Air Force bases, a U.S. Army post and an Army ammunition depot.

Under the budget, active-duty military personnel would receive a 1.7 percent pay raise in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, while federal civilian workers would get a 0.5 percent pay increase.

Many elements of the president's $3.8 trillion budget likely will be ignored by Congress or considered in a broader context. Farm subsidies are expected to be addressed in a long-term farm bill, while business tax breaks potentially could be tackled in an overhaul of the nation's corporate tax code.