WASHINGTON -- Northwest lawmakers were split Wednesday as the House passed a $290 billion farm bill that offers more subsidies for farmers and food stamps for the poor and $170 million for the disaster-plagued Pacific Coast salmon fishing industry.

Eleven of 16 House members from Oregon, Washington and Idaho voted in favor of the five-year bill, while five Northwest lawmakers voted against it.

President Bush has promised to veto the bill, saying the measure is too expensive and gives too much money to wealthy farmers.

Bush won agreement from some of the Northwest delegation's most liberal members, who complained that the farm bill did not go far enough to reduce subsidies to the rich.

"At a time when Americans are struggling to pay their mortgage, food and energy bills, we should help people who need it and not lavish resources on people who don't," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

With record-high farm prices, the government should not give money to couples earning up to $1.5 million in farm income and $1 million in non-farm income, especially when a majority of farmers get little or no government subsidies, Blumenauer said. He and other lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to bar anyone earning more than $250,000 a year from farming from collecting federal subsidies.

If Bush vetoes the bill as promised, "we must finish the job by getting more to farmers who need help, meeting our environmental obligations and doing more for the hungry," Blumenauer said.

Democratic Reps. Jay Inslee, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith and Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, all of Washington state, also opposed the bill.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., supported the bill, which he said benefits Northwest farmers who grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. The bipartisan bill, approved 318-106, invests $1.3 billion to help Northwest growers compete with farms around the world, Larsen said.

"Investments in research, pest management, trade promotion and nutrition initiatives are money well spent, not only for local fruit and vegetable growers but for the families who rely on them for wholesome food," Larsen said.

Previous farm bills have largely neglected specialty crops, which account for nearly 50 percent of total agricultural cash receipts in Washington state and nationally, Larsen said. Specialty crops include potatoes, apples, raspberries and nursery products. Washington is the third-largest producer of specialty crops in the country, while Oregon is fifth.

Ten other Northwest lawmakers -- five Democrats and five Republicans -- also supported the bill.

Henry Bierlink, executive director of the Washington State Red Raspberry Commission, called the bill a step forward for Washington state. He praised the measure's investments in competitiveness, research and trade promotion, which he called critical to the long-term survival of the specialty crop industry.

About two-thirds of the bill would pay for nutrition programs 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 programs.

Linda Nageotte, president of Food Lifeline, Washington state's largest hunger relief agency, said the bill makes "significant and timely investments to help end hunger in our state and our nation, and we strongly support its passage."

Nearly 600,000 people in Washington state rely on food stamp to feed their families, she said.