New Dems Call for Farm Bill Before End of the Year
“Our constituents are unconcerned with partisan politicking - they are worried about making it to the next crop year, staying in business, and keeping their families fed.”
Today, New Democrat Coalition Farm Bill Task Force Chair Kim Schrier (WA-08) and Vice Chairs Don Davis (NC-01) and Jim Costa (CA-21) sent a letter to House and Senate leadership, and leadership of the House Committee on Agriculture and of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry calling for Congress to pass a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill before the end of 2024.
“America’s farmers are the backbone of our country and communities,” said Farm Bill Task Force Chair Schrier. “They feed and employ our constituents and help power our economy. That’s why Congress must put partisanship aside and pass a robust Farm Bill by the end of the year to avert a harmful lapse in funding for American agriculture.”
“As Members representing rural communities, we know what’s at stake if we don’t get this legislation across the finish line. Democrats are united in fighting to make sure we sustain a vibrant and thriving agricultural economy. New Dems will continue working across the aisle to get a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill to the President’s desk by the end of the year.”
The letter reads in part:
“As New Dems, we are fully committed to working in a bipartisan fashion and finding a pragmatic path forward. By building upon the existing efforts throughout this Congress, we believe that there is a way forward to get legislation to the President’s desk before the end of the year.”
You can read the full letter here, and below:
Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Scott, Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Boozman:
Since the first Farm Bill was enacted over a century ago, Americans have relied on its stability for food, fuel, and feed. Our constituents are unconcerned with partisan politicking - they are worried about making it to the next crop year, staying in business, and feeding their families. As Members of the New Democrat Coalition, we write today on the importance of passing a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill before the end of 2024.
The Farm Bill provides crucial support to millions of Americans in rural communities and on family farms. Our farmers deserve policies that meet the needs of the farm economy without coming at the expense of our neighbors. It is imperative that we pass legislation to make sure we have a vibrant agricultural economy and a healthy nation.
Bipartisanship has been a key component to get a package signed into law with every modern Farm Bill. Proposals need to be crafted with an eye towards common sense solutions that meet the needs of farmers and their communities, not divisive, partisan policies that split the bipartisan coalition in Congress who care deeply about seeing a bill signed into law. As New Dems, we are fully committed to working in a bipartisan fashion and finding a pragmatic path forward.
By building upon the existing efforts throughout this Congress, we believe that there is a way forward to get legislation to the President’s desk before the end of the year. As leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees Committee, we ask that you redouble your efforts to negotiate and find a path forward. We stand ready to support these efforts, and look forward to the eventual consideration by both chambers of a bipartisan package.
Background
In May, after the House Agriculture Committee moved forward with a version of the Farm Bill that does not meet the standards most of our constituents expect, the Task Force released a statement calling for a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill: “Guided by our Task Force’s five core principles, New Dems will continue working with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle and Capitol to support passage of a comprehensive Farm Bill that finds common ground and delivers for our agricultural producers, rural communities, and the American people."
Last September, the Task Force endorsed 44 bills led or co-led by New Dem Members and released a statement strongly urging the inclusion of this legislation in the upcoming Farm Bill.
Additionally, after the House rejected the extremist Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA appropriations bill last fall, the Task Force released a statement warning against partisan fighting: “As we prepare to pass a Farm Bill, we must ensure it is bipartisan and does not replicate past Republican failures caused by injecting partisanship into the debate."
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