WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent the White House a huge election-year farm bill yesterday that includes a boost in farm subsidies and more money for food stamps amid rising grocery prices.

Bush has threatened to veto the $290 billion bill, saying it is fiscally irresponsible and too generous to wealthy corporate farmers in a time of record crop prices.

But Congress disagreed, passing the bill by overwhelming margins in both chambers — enough to override a veto. The Senate vote was 81-15, a day after the House approved it with 318 "yes" votes.

About two-thirds of the bill would pay for domestic nutrition programmes such as food stamps and emergency food aid for the needy. An additional $40 billion is for farm subsidies, while almost $30 billion would go to farmers to idle their land and to other environmental programmes.

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer again criticised the bill after Tuesday's House vote, saying it has the wrong priorities.

"It does not target help for the farmers who really need it, and it increases the size and cost of government while jeopardising the future of legitimate farm programmes by damaging the credibility of farm bills in general," he said.

Congress has only overridden one veto, on a water projects bill, during Bush's two terms.

Congressional negotiators met for weeks in an effort to come closer to the White House on the amount of money to be paid to wealthy farmers — one of the chief sticking points with the administration. But drastic cuts to subsidies were not possible, lawmakers said, because of the clout of Southern lawmakers who represent rice and cotton farms that are more expensive to run.

"This bill has reform in it," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "Could we have done more? Perhaps. But if we'd done more we wouldn't have gotten a bill."