H.R.2 - The Farm Bill
H.R.2 - The Farm Bill
The House passed an unusually controversial farm bill. Typically a bipartisan affair, work on the bill (H.R.2) has dissolved into finger pointing, with Democrats, upset by proposed food stamp changes, charging that they were shut out of the process and Republicans saying they made hard but necessary choices.
For H.R.2:
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX)
“Today’s [Committee] vote was about America’s farmers and ranchers. It was about a better future and greater opportunities for SNAP recipients. It was about fulfilling an obligation to lead, rather than standing on the sidelines.
“I’m disappointed that my Democrat colleagues have turned their backs on America’s heartland – that they’ve chosen partisan politics over the three years of bipartisan work in this committee. Democrats halted talks over their objection to requiring work-capable adults to either find employment or receive free training for 20 hours per week. Yet, despite this turn of events, I remain hopeful. When House Democrats pushed a partisan farm bill that raised taxes in 2008 over Republican objections, Republicans worked alongside Democrats to fend off hostile amendments aimed against the legislation on the House floor and worked in conference committee to achieve a bipartisan farm bill. I am hopeful Democrats will not hold the nation’s farmers and ranchers hostage in this process over the SNAP work and training requirements, which will provide SNAP beneficiaries not just a benefit, but a better future that only a job can provide.
“But we’ll continue fighting, we won’t settle for the status quo – because America needs a farm bill. America deserves a farm bill. And I look forward to taking this vote to the people’s House – to debating these policies on the floor and to sharing our vision with the American people. We have cleared this hurdle and will deliver a strong, new farm bill on time.”
Against H.R.2:
“I am disappointed that Chairman Conaway has chosen to mark up a partisan Farm Bill that includes severe cuts to nutrition assistance for Americans in need. Moreover, this bill fails to invest in rural development and bioenergy programs, and it undermines conservation efforts. American farmers – particularly those living and working on smaller family farms – are already living under the uncertainty caused by low commodity prices and the potential impact of President Trump’s reckless trade policies. They don’t need the added anxiety of House Republicans injecting partisan politics into the Farm Bill.
“The farm bill draft introduced today by Republicans on the Agriculture Committee doubles-down on their assault against families and children on the edge of hunger. It imposes the kind of strict work requirements that, in the past, have only served to kick people off assistance and deepen poverty without meaningfully increasing employment. Republicans ought to recognize that taking nutrition assistance away from Americans enduring hunger is the wrong way to win the war on poverty. The farm bill ought to focus on helping children, the elderly, and those with disabilities instead of being used for a partisan, ideological attack on successful anti-poverty programs.
“Federal nutrition assistance helps more than 40 million Americans keep from going hungry. I urge Committee Republicans to go back to the drawing board and work with Democrats to write a bipartisan farm bill that does not shortchange low-income children and their families.”
