Agriculture Committee Passes Farm Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry today approved Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s 2012 Farm Bill by a wide bipartisan margin, 16-5. Stabenow was joined by top Agriculture Committee Republican Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) in introducing the bipartisan Farm Bill, entitled the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act. A Farm Bill sets the nation’s agriculture policy and must be passed every five years. The current Farm Bill is set to expire this year.
The Senators’ bipartisan proposal will reduce the deficit $23 billion dollars by eliminating unnecessary direct payment subsidies, consolidating programs to end duplication, and cracking down on food assistance abuse. These reforms will allow agriculture initiatives critical for Michigan to be strengthened.
“We examined every agriculture program to see what was working and what wasn’t,” said Stabenow. “This Farm Bill ends unnecessary direct payment subsidies, consolidates programs and cracks down on fraud and abuse. With these reforms we saved billions that allowed us to strengthen initiatives that are effectively helping farmers and businesses create new Michigan agriculture jobs.”
“Congress needs to put down the partisanship and work across the aisle to help spur job creation and reduce the deficit. I’m proud that the Agriculture Committee was able to accomplish that,” Stabenow said.
Agriculture is Michigan’s second largest industry, with nearly one in four jobs supported by agriculture.
The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 would reduce the deficit by:
· Finally ending “direct payment” farm subsidies, meaning farmers will no longer be paid for crops they are not growing; will not be paid for acres that are not actually planted; and will only receive support in the face of actual price or yield drops—not when they are already doing well. Crop insurance will be strengthened to ensure farmers are protected from being wiped out by a few days of bad weather.
· Cracking down on fraud and abuse in food assistance programs so resources are used for those who truly need them. For example, the proposal would take lotto winners off of food assistance, stop misuse by college students, and crack down on benefit trafficking.
· Making agriculture initiatives more cost-effective—eliminating dozens of programs in the agriculture committees’ jurisdiction while still largely accomplishing the same goals and making programs easier to use. For example, 23 existing conservation programs are consolidated into 13 while still maintaining the same tools currently available to protect our land and water—even increasing investment in top priorities like Great Lakes Protection.
The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 would help farmers, ranchers and small business owners create jobs by:
· Expanding export opportunities to help farmers sell in new markets
· Strengthening research and other initiatives to support innovation among American fruit and vegetable growers—particularly important to Michigan as our agriculture sector is based more on fruits and vegetables much more than many other states.
· Helping new bio-manufacturing businesses start and existing ones expand
· Spurring advancements in bio-energy production
· Creating new markets for small family farmers
· Extending rural development initiatives to help rural communities grow their economies
More detailed summaries and the full text of the 2012 Farm Bill is available on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s website: http://www.ag.senate.gov/issues/farm-bill.