Michele Bachmann is running for president on a campaign of cutting the federal government. But she's also responding to reports that she and her immediate family have benefited from government assistance. Minnesota's Republican Congresswoman announced her candidacy today in Iowa, where she was born and where party caucuses will be the first test of candidates next year.
But yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that a counseling clinic run by Bachmann's husband received $30,000 in state and federal funds in the past five years, while a family farm in Wisconsin where she is a partner got $260,000 in federal subsidies. Melanie Mason reports from Washington for the Times and the Chicago Tribune.